19,000 electric Atlis utes are coming to Australia

Atlis Motor Vehicles is a USA-based startup dedicated to creating a range of fully-electric, ulitity, working vehicles. The specs are impressive – indiviudal wheel drive (IWD), four-wheel-steer, independent air suspension with 300mm+ of ground clearance, 447kW /1627Nm motor, GVM of around 9000kg, towing of 16,000kg (gooseneck), range of up to 800km and a 0-100% recharge in as little as 15 minutes for its 250kWh battery – around double the size of the average Tesla. The 0-100km/h sprint will be around 5 seconds, and top speed around 190km/h. The battery will be good for a million miles (1.6m km), which reflects an industry move to life-of-vehicle batteries so no replacement needed.

The specs above are planned, not yet actual, and would not apply to all variants nor necessarily translate to the Australian market which has different regulations to that of the USA. Nevertheless, it’s impressive. And see my video below for six reasons why EVs are going to be amazing for 4×4 owners.

I’ve been following Atlis for a while, and interviewed CEO Mark Hanchett back in October. The reason I’m interested in Atlis is because they’re very much focused on practical, working vehicles, not an EV for the sake of it or for just for style. And at the time, I asked Mark if there were plans for Australia. He said yes…and now we know what they are.

AusMV specialise in converting American vehicles from left-hand-drive to right-hand-drive; think Rams, Challengers, Chargers and the F-150. And they’ve just signed a deal to buy 19,000 Atlis pickups to turn them into right-hand-drive utes for Australia! This should be a rather easier conversion than some of their existing lineup as the Atlis EV is simpler as it doesn’t have a petrol or diesel engine, and everything is by-wire.

Exact timing isn’t known, but Atlis plan to produce their XT vehicle in 2022, and the press release says AusMV will purchase 19,000 pickups “through 2025” and “provide expertise in compliance and certification, as well as support in service and charging infrastructure for the Australia market”.

Watch this space…exciting times for EV offroaders in Australia!