Dawning of the age of the electric ute

This type of vehicle seemed light years away only a little while ago, but now a revolution has started and more and more makers are joining the fray.

Australia’s top two selling vehicles are utes but the workhorses we buy today are set for a big change.

Tesla’s head-turning, futuristic Cybertruck isn’t the only big thing set to alter the ute landscape.

Elon Musk revealing the Tesla Cybertruck in 2019. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

Now emerging electric car maker Karma has said it is forging ahead with a ute of its own.

Karma emerged from the ashes when Fisker went bankrupt in 2014. That company had famous clientele including Justin Bieber and Ashton Kutcher and even had Leonardo DiCaprio as an investor before it went bankrupt.

A Chinese company bought out a lot of Fisker’s assets and has set about building electric cars of its own under the Karma name.

Rivian R1T electric ute could go on sale as soon as 2022.

Karma expects to display its new electric pick-up truck by the end of this year.

The maker is racing against time as other car brands are also accelerating plans to build electric workhorses.

Tesla’s Cybertruck is one but so is the Rivian R1T which has been confirmed for sale in Australia, possibly as soon as 2022.

Rivian says its truck will tow up to 4500kg and claims range of 640km.

The stumbling block could be price.

Karma Automotive expects to reveal its ute by the end of the year.

It is expected to be priced from $US65,000 ($93,000) with US electric vehicle incentives. These range from $US2500-$7500 ($3500-$10,500) depending on battery size.

Rivian has some very impressive backers, including Amazon and Ford. The former has signed a deal with the company to produce 100,000 electric delivery vans.

But it isn’t just Silicon Valley getting in on the action — conventional car makers such as Ford and GM are each well advanced in bringing a zero-emission ute to market.

An all-electric Ford F-150 prototype during a tow test.

GM has just announced a $US2.2 billion ($3.25b) refit for one of its US factories to build electric cars. Ford has the electric F-150 pick-up truck in development and this could arrive next year. The Blue Oval recently showed the EV’s ability when it towed rail wagons packed with petrol-powered F-150s weighing more than 450 tonnes.

Buyers could soon be spoiled for choice for electric utes, which only a few years ago seemed an eternity away.