Sussan Ley said no one in the world builds an electric ute. is that correct?

Claim

On the eve of the much-anticipated Jobs and Skills Summit, opposition parties said the Albanian government had not invited the Motor Trade Association to the two-day talks despite including electric car maker Tesla on its guest list. criticized.

Liberal Party deputy leader Susan Ray told Sky News on August 26 that there were “20 million cars” with internal combustion engines on the road in Australia, adding: “People are on the road. He said he emphasizes “workers and trade that protects the safety of workers”.

“We know there will be no electric cars tomorrow,” said Ray.

“By the way, no one in the world is making electric utes, and even if they were, they would be out of reach.”

Is Rei’s opinion correct that no one in the world is making electric utes? RMIT ABC Fact Check takes that claim for a spin.

verdict

Ray is wrong.

At least four electric Utes are manufactured and sold overseas, including the Utes made by Ford and the electric Utes version of General Motors’ Hummer.

In addition, companies such as Tesla and Chevrolet have announced plans for a number of electric vehicles. Australia’s Ace is also accepting reservations for its electric model, the Yuto.

What is Ute?

Short for ‘utility vehicle’ or ‘coupe utility’, the Australian yurt is often used by farmer’s wives to write to automakers, take the family to church on Sundays, and take pigs to the market. It was first invented by Ford after they commissioned them to build a vehicle that could. Monday.

That’s according to the late Ford historian Adrian Ryan, who had a 40-year career in the auto industry and 14 years in Ford’s public relations team.

“The idea of ​​combining a car and a truck is [Geelong designer] Lew Bandt … came up,” Ryan told ABC in 2003.

“He took a 1933 model coupe, built the backrest and strengthened the chassis to support the load. This was approved and production began in 1934.”

Paul Malick, founder of vehicle review website CarExpert.com.au, told Fact Check that utes have traditionally been “not ladder frame chassis” vehicles such as the Ford Falcon ute or Holden Commodore. Told. Yute.

“They were usually very passenger vehicles that could actually carry luggage,” Malick explained.

According to Maric, the ute on the market in Australia today “has a tray resting on a ladder frame” and is more typical of what is called a “pickup truck” in the United States.

However, he added, “A ute is a pickup truck and a pickup truck is a ute.”

“They are exactly the same thing.”

Do automakers make electric cars?

Malick told Fact Check that Ray’s claim that “nobody in the world is building an electric ute” is “absolutely untrue.”

“Many of them are available in the market, not in Australia, but there is a move to make these vehicles available in Australia,” he said, adding that Chinese automaker LDV will be the first to sell the electric UTE. pointed out that it is likely. Australia.

“It looks like [LDV’s electric ute] has just been launched in New Zealand, and will generally be available in Australia at some point. “

Ingrid Burfurd, a senior associate in the Grattan Institute’s Transport and Cities Program, told Fact Check that several car companies are building electric vehicles.

Dr. Burfurd said in an e-mail, “There are companies overseas that are already selling electric toilets, are producing them, or plan to produce them by 2023.

“This includes big names like Ford, Tesla and Hummer, as well as smaller, upstarts like Rivian, GWM and Fisker.”

She said the demand for these electric units was growing because Ford’s F-150 was so popular that the automaker stopped taking orders after receiving more than 45,000 in 48 hours after it began registering the vehicles. said to be strong.

As for the upcoming electric Utes, Dr. Bruffard pointed to local company ACE, which is now accepting reservations for Yewt models.

“[The Yewt] It’s designed more for small businesses doing urban deliveries than off-road, but it will broaden the price point and buyer range for the electric ute,” she said.

Dr Burfurd said the best way to boost the supply of electric vehicles in Australia would be to introduce ’emission caps’ or ’emission standards’ for new vehicles.

When asked by Fact Check to provide evidence for its claims, Ley’s spokesperson said, “What Mr Ley wanted was that EV vehicles are not yet commercially available in Australia.” rice field.

“Even if EV ute got here overnight, the cost-effective models (always with low range) are still not suitable for practical use in rural and rural Australia.”

what about the cost?

In making her case, Ms Ray suggested that electric Utes available in Australia would be “out of reach”.

It’s a subjective measure, but experts have noticed that electric cars tend to be more expensive than those with internal combustion engines.

“We don’t know how appliances from international manufacturers will be priced in Australia until they are available for sale,” said Dr Burfurd.

Dr. Burfurd noted that the Ford F-150 Lightning costs about $11,000 more than the non-electric base model, and the LDV eT60 costs almost twice as much as the diesel model of the same car.