LDV Tarantula goes mainstream

Ateco Automotive, the importer and local distributor of the LDV brand, will next year introduce a mid-size SUV based on its Tarantula design concept (pictured) to slot into the local range below the LDV D90.

"That new mid-size SUV you can expect to see in Australia next year," motoring.com.au was told last week by Ateco spokesman, Edward Rowe.

In addition, according to Rowe, a new generation of the LDV V80 van, codenamed SV63, will also launch here next year, with a new LDV G10 van and people-mover range – codenamed SV73 – arriving the year after that.

The Tarantula-based SUV is a "no-brainer", says Rowe, and there's some chance a small van on the same architecture could make an appearance in the local market.

"There's the possibility of a smaller van, what we'd call a car-derived [van] – a Doblo, Berlingo rival to come off the same platform," Rowe explained. In the same breath, the Ateco exec ruled out importing the proposed five-seat MPV also based on Tarantula.

"The market [for people movers in Australia] is a lot smaller, and it would be a five-seater people mover, for [which] the market is smaller again.

"We're not a people-mover market."

Next year will also see a facelift and model update for the T60 pick-up and its SUV counterpart, the D90. It will be a busy year for Ateco, reportedly launching new or updated models in Australia every two to three months. Still on the cards are electric vehicles – including two existing variants of the G10 and V80 vans.

"[SAIC] obviously has production electric versions... EG10 and EV80. We've looked at those vehicles and, again... especially with commercial vehicles, we think they could have an enormous role in Australia..." Rowe said.

"We don't have the same country-wide pollution as they do here [in China]; what we do have is localised, low-altitude pollution, particularly in urban areas. What vehicles operate around the clock in urban areas? Vans. That's their primary habitat and their primary use. They're on the road more than any other vehicle...

"So if you wanted to make a significant contribution, an electric van would be a great thing."

What sort of price premium would be charged for an electric version of the V80?

"We haven't nailed it down precisely, because it would require a [sales] volume commitment," Rowe said.

Ateco's reluctance to commit to electric vehicles in Australia, including an all-new EV in development (EV31, the platform for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid variants), is due to the Australian government's lack of support for electric vehicles.

"By 'support', I don't think anyone in the car industry's expecting government handouts; what we would like is for them to set a standard for recharging and so on, just as in exactly the same way there's a standard for fuel.

"An awful lot of us in the industry are sort of poised and waiting – with the vehicles all ready to roll in – but we need to have that sort of standard," Rowe said.

Ateco is by no means the first car company to complain about government inertia on this subject. Tesla skirts the problem by offering two different types of recharging leads, plus a unit for charging from a standard household outlet.

"You wouldn't want to burden the customer with a vehicle that they then – five years down the track – can't recharge.

"We have to think about not only the customer we sell the car to, but [also] the customers further down the track."