EVs have just had a successful year with many segments of the market seeing a sizeable increase in 2023. Commercial EVs like electric vans, though, have not seen the same level of uptake, mainly due to a lack of options on the market.
Now a new brand is on its way to Australian shores, promising a range of commercial EVs into the Australian market. Asiastar vans, cab chassis and buses are on their way to the local market thanks to the Foton Mobility Distribution team.
On the back of this announcement, Foton Mobility Distributionās general manager of light-duty vehicles, Bill Gillespie said: āItās an exciting time to be bringing the Asiastar product to Australia, with the brand providing a range that is truly in demand by the local market,ā.
Gillespie went on to share the state of play in the electric last-mile delivery space in Australia and the need for electric vans: āThe electric van segment is truly underserviced locally, and with the innovations we are bringing to the market with our leading battery size, range, and eAxle configuration, we know that this will be a hit.ā
Starting with an all-electric van, which claims to have the largest battery size in the Australian electric van segment of the market. It will be available in either 70 kWh or 105.6 kWh van and cab chassis configuration.
There is also a bus variant that will feature the larger 105.6 kWh battery pack. This particular variant will be offered with either 12 seats or no seats for fleets looking at custom fit-out of the vehicle.
This larger battery is supplied by CATL who also supply battery packs to Tesla and are the most common battery pack found in Tesla vehicles in Australia. The battery pack system runs on a 500-volt architecture.
An estimated range of 300 km is on offer with the 105.6 kWh battery pack. Itās well suited for stop-start traffic and city delivery runs.
On pricing, the cab-chassis version of the van will start at under $90,000 excluding GST, making it more feasible than previous offerings in the electric van space. For comparison, the Ford e-Transit starts at above $104,000 before on-roads.
The new Asiastar vanās battery will be paired with an eAxle where the drive motor is placed directly onto the rear axle. This powertrain setup allows for adequate range and payload possibilities for fleets.Ā
The eAxle motor found on these vans can provide 140 kW of power and up to 3,890 Nm or torque.
With the larger battery pack, the van can deliver a maximum payload of 1,480 kg in a 10.5 cubic meter cargo area.
Similarly, an Asiastar van equipped with the smaller 70 kWh battery pack can haul up to 1,700 kg of payload.
According to the local distributor, all Asiastar products have a 4,500 kg gross vehicle mass (GVM) and can be driven on a car license in Australia.
As standard, the Asiastar commercial EV range comes with a range of safety features, including:
- ABS braking
- Autonomous electric braking
- Electronic stability control
- Lane departure warning
- Reversing camera on the van and bus range
According to Foton Mobility Distribution, the Asiastar commercial electric vans and other vehicles will be suited to last-mile delivery businesses, trades and construction companies, local governments, community transport, aged care and patient transportation fleets.
The Asiastar commercial EVs are backed by a 5-year or 200,000 km warranty along with an 8-year or 300,000 km warranty on the traction battery. Roadside assistance is also on offer to provide fleet operators.
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.