Chinese and European makers roll out a swag of new EVs.

 

Fast-expanding Chinese commercial vehicle maker LDV has set its sights on the Toyota HiAce with the arrival in Australia of its all-new eDeliver 7 electric van (pictured).

 

The eDeliver 7 is the smaller sibling of LDV’s popular Deliver 9 large van, which is the segment leader beating the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter year-to-date (to August) in sales.

 

The eDeliver 7 will be available in two different wheelbases and with two different roof height options in Australia to give the brand the ability to lure buyers from the HiAce, as well as the Ford Transit Custom, Hyundai Staria-Load and Volkswagen Transporter.

 

Volkswagen Group Australia says 2024 will be one of its biggest years yet in terms of product rollout, and its namesake brand is arguably the biggest beneficiary.

 

The Volkswagen brand is now getting its first electric vehicles in Australia, and the axing of the Golf and Passat wagons and Arteon liftback and Shooting Brake has helped clear the deck for a slew of new products.

 

The 2023 Ford E-Transit is the first fully-electric vehicle from Ford to launch in Australia. While it’s not the first electrified product outright – that accolade goes to the Ford Escape ST-Line plug-in hybrid – this battery electric vehicle represents where the carmaker intends to be in the future.

 

Peugeot has been furiously slotting new electric vehicles into its European line-up in recent years, most recently the e-2008 compact SUV and e-208 small hatch.

 

The brand’s Australian  operation has its eyes on those and other EVs coming down the new product pipeline, but this light commercial van, the e-Partner, is the first pure-electric Peugeot to arrive in Australia.

 

Meantime, the BBC’s Top Gear website has compiled a list of the ‘top 10’ electric vans available in the UK: