Toyota HiLux EV coming next year

An electric Toyota HiLux will be on Australian roads by early 2023.

That’s the ambitious target of Roev, a freshly minted Australian EV start-up that has plans to convert the country’s two most popular vehicles, the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, to electric power ahead of a bolder plan to manufacture its own electric ute locally within a few years.

Key to Roev’s sales pitch is its ability to provide scale EV conversions to fleets and governments keen to switch to electric.

It’s worth highlighting that the scale is relative to current EV conversion houses rather than global vehicle manufacturers.

Roev (pronounced rove) is planning to convert 1000 cars – starting with the HiLux – within its first 12 months. That’s about as many HiLux utes as Aussies snap up in a week.

Initially it’s targeting fleets and government departments.

It will produce them in a ‘micro-factory’, the first of which is planned for the Sunshine Coast region in Queensland. That same factory is eventually planned to expand to produce an electric ute designed and engineered in Australia.

“We’re looking at the right size for our markets and we can do that profitably,” said Roev CEO Noah Wasmer, a former executive at software giant Atlassian.

Wasmer has petrol pulsing through his veins, having grown up in Detroit in a family of automotive workers.

“I’m a passionate auto lover, as are the people on our team.”

Key to the Roev manufacturing process is the ability to tailor utes to individual fleets, depending on their requirements.

Utes are often a blank canvas that many buyers build on to create their ideal work – or play – machine and Roev plans to continue that theme.

“We want to sit down with [fleet buyers] and really understand what their needs are and really build a purpose-built vehicle for them,” said Wasmer.

Roev is planning to offer two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions of its converted HiLux EV.

There will also be the choice of a 70kWh battery pack or one with more than 100kWh of capacity.

Roev says the smaller capacity will provide up to 300km of electric range, something it believes will be suitable for many fleets.

The larger capacity – which will clearly bring a price premium – should deliver upwards of 400km of range.

The plan at this stage is to use a single electric motor – even for 4x4 versions – and a reduction gear (as with all EVs) rather than the standard gearbox. The 4x4 versions will retain their standard transfer case.

Roev believes that single motor can provide the grunt required, while still maintaining the high- and low-range functionality of an off-roader.

Roev has already spoken to governments, mining companies and even police departments.

“Things like a reduction gear we think will be significantly different for mining [applications] than it would be for a police fleet that needs a higher top-end [speed],” said Wasmer, referencing the anticipated speed requirements of utes in different applications.

He also wants electric utes on the beach.

“I have this vision … the life-saving truck pulling up to the lifeguard tower and do energy-out to power up the station.”

Roev plans to initially use lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology, which is a similar chemistry to that used in entry-level versions of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

While LFP batteries typically have a lower energy density (its ability to hold electricity) than lithium-ion batteries, they are usually cheaper to manufacture (because they don’t contain nickel and cobalt) and have a longer life.

“It’s a longer-term battery [offering more cycles],” said Wasmer.

“LFP is showing up sufficient [energy] density, sufficient amount of charging cycles … as well as a really reliable, high quality cell.”

Batteries will initially be purchased from overseas suppliers and Roev is currently in discussions with various big players. Wasmer won’t say which ones, but they presumably include the likes of Panasonic, LG and CATL.

The electrical system will initially be 400 volts – the standard used in most EVs – and will support DC fast-charging capability.

Eventually, Roev wants to source Australian batteries.

“We [Australia] have those minerals … we could have the lowest footprint battery in the world,” said Wasmer, adding that establishing an industry will provide the catalyst for others to produce the cells locally.

“I think that will grow into an entire industry.”

Roev is viewing electric utes as a lot more than a means of transporting people and goods.

It believes they can fit into the energy grid and be an instrumental part of the move to renewables that is fast gaining pace nationally.

“We believe they can really serve two purposes, which is not just be a great workhorse but also be an energy solution … a powerwall on wheels,” said Wasmer.

Leveraging its software expertise, the company says using the vehicle’s batteries to feed back into the grid or power a house could even extend the life of those batteries.

“If the software is leveraging the battery in the right [state-of-charge] range it can actually keep the battery very, very healthy,” said Wasmer, referencing university studies into the subject.

“In many instances they found that smart charging can actually prolong the life of the battery.”

While they will do without the diesel donk, the electric HiLuxes will still be more Toyota than Roev. They’ll wear a Toyota badge and retain all the existing features of a HiLux, from airbags and safety systems to air-conditioning and infotainment.

In short, they’ll look and smell like a HiLux, although trainspotters may notice they won’t have an exhaust system.

They’ll also be a lot quieter – and quicker.

Like all EVs, there’s an emphasis on torque, something that works with the load-lugging nature of a ute.

During manufacturing the company will remove the engine, fuel tank and gearbox, but it will retain the driveshafts, differentials and transfer case on 4x4 models.

That will offer owners access to a lower drive ratio to multiply the torque and effectively provide more low-speed grunt. It also provides familiarity from a user perspective.

Roev isn’t talking pricing for its EV utes for now, but the company concedes there will be a price premium over a regular HiLux or Ranger.

When carsales threw a figure of $40,000 to $50,000 over the price of the donor vehicle the response was: “You’re roughly in the ballpark of where we would love to be.”

Wasmer added that over time the hope is to lower that.

For fleet operators, that’s a big premium and one that would take the price of a garden-variety ute to something around $100,000 or more.

But Wasmer says fleets work on overall running costs, or total cost of ownership.

“When you look at the total cost of ownership of fuel and maintenance … we’re trying to get our price-points as low as possible to be a small fraction above that [of diesel-powered utes]. We don’t think we can get below that.”

Clearly part of the appeal, then, will be the lure of zero-emissions motoring and the value fleets and governments place on that from a corporate responsibility and marketing perspective.

“We want to make this one of the most competitively priced vehicles in the market and we think we can do that very, very quickly.”

Wasmer says Roev will offer a competitive warranty as well as on-site replacement vehicles.

“Let’s say they have 10 [Roev vehicles in their fleet], then we’ll have one spare … to give them that immediate comfort,” he says, adding that any repairs can be completed quickly by unplugging and replacing batteries or electrical components.

“Within hours they have that 11th vehicle on site.”

Wasmer believes the success of Roev will go beyond its product offerings, as we’ve seen with other EV start-ups around the world.

But simply having a vision and a dream isn’t enough. Car-making is a capital-intensive business with enormous costs involved before the first cars arrive in customer hands.

Roev won’t disclose where its money is coming from, other than to say there’s enough of it to achieve its lofty goals.

“We’re privately funded to make sure we’re building the vehicles that we’re talking about with the conversions and we believe that some of our existing funding can help support our long-term vision.”

Plans to convert existing utes to EVs has appeal today, but Roev isn’t the only Australian company doing that and the business model will be short-lived.

Every ute manufacturer – and even some new to commercial vehicles – is either currently working on an electric load-lugger or has one in its longer-term vision.

In short, it won’t make sense to convert utes to electric when they’re rolling off large-scale factories in Japan, Thailand, China, the US or even Australia. At least one electric ute from China is expected in Australian dealerships by the end of 2023.

But by the time the big players are selling EV utes in Australia, Roev wants to be building its own unique electric ute, leveraging the expertise and learnings within the Australian market.

It’s already been tapping into the talent from Australian universities as well as leveraging an automotive industry that still has a strong design and engineering presence locally.

There’s a long way to go, but Roev’s vision and private backing suggests it’ll give it a good crack. Whether it manages to climb the mountain ahead of it will to a large extent depend on the financial muscle behind the company.

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