LDV releases new G10 van variant

Shanghai Automobile and Industrial Corporation’s LDV commercial vehicle division has added more variety to its Australian-market G10 van range with the introduction of a new petrol manual variant.

Powered by a naturally-aspirated 2.4-litre petrol engine developing 105kW/210Nm and matched to a five-speed manual transmission, the latest G10 Van is priced from $25,990 drive-away for ABN holders, which LDV says is around $10,000 less than any other one-tonne van in the marketplace.

The new G10 manual joins the existing turbo-petrol automatic version, which is priced $5000 higher at $29,990 drive-away and arrived here with a 165kW/330Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine in April.

“The arrival of the manual G10 Van represents the next phase in our push for volume,” said Dinesh Chinnappa, General Manager of LDV Australia.

“In reality, we have not only undercut our competitors by a country mile, but we also open up significant new sales potential to what otherwise might be the used van market.

“The volume potential of the G10 at $25,990 is simply huge.”

It will need to be huge to gain market share, with the current single-model G10 accounting for only 2.1 per cent of the 1349 total sales achieved in the 2.5-3.5 tonne Van/CC sector, according to VFACTS October 2015 figures. Its 28 sales trailed the segment-leading Toyota HiAce by 616 units.

Like the automatic variant, the manual will retain a 1093kg payload and has 5200 litres of cargo space; enough for two standard pallets to be loaded.

An LCD touch-screen, reversing camera, Bluetooth functionality, DVD playback capability, as well as the usual air-con, power steering and windows, are also retained. There’s also stability control, anti-lock brakes, parking sensors, airbags and tyre pressure monitoring.