LDV D60 confirmed for Australia

A new monocoque-bodied SUV from Chinese brand LDV will commence right-hand drive production within 12 months as part of a “second phase” of production, followed by a launch in Australia, an LDV spokesman has confirmed with carsales.com.au.

As part of the second phase, the LDV D60 will introduce diesel power and a plug-in hybrid option. The new SUV, making its debut at the Shanghai motor show this week, is initially available with a petrol engine only.

Although there are styling cues that wouldn't look out of place on a facelifted Hyundai Santa Fe, the LDV D60 is more likely to be a medium SUV in Australia, as far as VFACTS is concerned. The D60 is essentially a production version of the Tarantula design concept that made its debut at the Beijing motor show last year.

The spokesman has told carsales.com.au that the D60 is built on the same platform underpinning a new people mover model, the LDV G50, and an electric van, the EV30. According to the spokesman, the G50, which is roughly the size of a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso or a Kia Rondo, is not under consideration for Australia, since the market for vehicles like that is miniscule.

The EV30 is very definitely under consideration, however. There's no specific time frame for when that decision will be made (“after May 18,” the spokesman flippantly suggested), but the local LDV distributor definitely thinks the electric van could be a relatively strong seller in Australia and it’s “on our planning matrix”.

A stumbling block for EVs generally, and the EV30 in particular, says the spokesman, is that the government is yet to mandate a universal battery charging connector for electric vehicles dependent on public recharging.

“For government, that’s job one,” the spokesman said.

Another car that’s under consideration for Australia is the G20 people mover. This vehicle is basically a G10 people mover with a different nose and nicer fittings inside. The new model is to be offered in China in a fuel-cell version, but for that particular variant to be offered in Australia, the local market would have to see a network of hydrogen supply facilities set up first. For LDV to sell the conventional G20 in Australia, the brand would have to consider moving into the VIP shuttle sector of the market.

According to the LDV spokesman, the importer is definitely looking at it, but at present, “it’s not a priority”.

It’s shaping up to be a busy period for the brand in Australia, with the LDV V90 van on the way and a new, in-house designed diesel engine set to reignite interest in the T60 pick-up and its SUV sibling, the D90.