Isbark.com

An American start-up plans to make waves in the EV industry by launching a cheap electric pickup within a couple of years’ time. It’s a move that is meant to shake up the industry, but quietly, and behind the scenes, another company has already arrived, albeit on the other side of the ocean. Could Eleksa, the South African underdog, prove to be the groundbreaker instead?

A South African Underdog Wins This Particular EV Race

Electric vehicles, by their very nature, should be ideal for contractors who do not rack up a lot of daily mileage and simply want a local workhorse. After all, you can look back six decades or more and find electrically operated milk “float” delivery vehicles that had only one purpose in mind. So, it’s not surprising to find a lot of potential competition among manufacturers who would love to create a functional electric pickup truck using battery-only power.

Eleksa’s Pony EV is South Africa’s first fully electric pickup truck, also known as a “bakkie” in local terminology. Its primary purpose is for short-haul logistics and for contracting, last-mile deliveries or municipal use. It’s a vehicle that is purely functional and meant for an arena where low cost and high efficiency matter far more than luxury or outright power. Certainly, the Pony EV has some practical amenities like electric windows, LED lighting and air conditioning, but it’s never going to set the world alight. Instead, it has a maximum top speed of 43 mph and a range of approximately 60 miles. You can charge it overnight on a standard outlet so you can go again in the morning.

Related

Who Needs A $20,000 Electric Pickup?

Slate’s highly-customizable $20,000 electric pickup has a lot of promise, but what does the ideal driver look like?

The EV Landscape in South Africa

There’s not as much support for electric vehicles in South Africa as you may find in the United States. After all, you can get federal tax credits of up to $7,500 if you buy a new electric vehicle in the USA, but there are no direct subsidies in South Africa. You’ll need to pay up to 25% import duties if you want to bring electric vehicles to South Africa, which is higher than the associated tariff for ICE-propelled vehicles. This translates to less than a thousand sales of new battery electric vehicles during 2023, according to the National Association, which is less than 0.1% of total vehicle sales. However, the government is thinking about making South Africa a hub for EV manufacturing and exports, but there’s a long way to go in terms of infrastructure, local battery production and other matters. In this overall environment, you could take your hat off to Eleksa for making an effort and, essentially, standing alone in that segment. After all, other global brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz only seem to offer high-end EVs in South Africa.

The Eleksa Strategy for Local Impact

Eleksa is based in Pretoria and already has a reputation for producing niche vehicles for the South African auto market. For example, there was the CityBug, which was a small electric hatchback with urban commuters in mind. But with the Pony, the company is essentially assembling a vehicle from an imported kit. Most of the kit material comes from China, but the company has to adapt it to meet South African regulations and environmental challenges. However, this type of approach will certainly keep development costs down and enable Eleksa to roll out the vehicle more quickly.

Related

Reservations For America’s Cheap EV Truck Are Through The Roof

Hopefully, it doesn’t suffer the same fate as the Tesla Cybertruck.

Slate Auto Is Still in the Wings

Over on our side of the Atlantic Ocean, Slate Auto is one of the latest American EV startups trying to make its own waves. Slate is only a few years old, but it bosts backing from Jeff Bezos and his investment arm. Most recently, the company announced it would create the Blank Slate, which is a no-frills modular electric pickup that could retail for under $20,000 after tax credits.

Comparing the Pony to the Blank Slate

The Blank Slate should have more capability than the Pony for sure, with a range of up to 240 miles and a top speed of 90 mph. You might get fewer creature comforts on board though and have to crank the windows to get some air. There’s no infotainment system and most of the controls are analog, which seems very old-fashioned in this digital world. However, you will be able to choose from a wide range of modular accessories, so you can convert your pickup into a delivery van or a mobile workshop, for example.

In a straightforward side-by-side comparison, you’re essentially getting the same thing in terms of a very utilitarian, no-nonsense workhorse. However, the Blank Slate has a much more realistic range, especially by US standards and taking into account the sprawling nature of any American town or city. The Blank Slate is also more customizable for a broader range of clientele.

Why Affordability Matters in the EV Market

Both vehicles shine a spotlight on the affordability gap when it comes to electric vehicles. After all, the average cost of a new EV in the US is now more than $53,000 and luxury vehicles seem to dominate the headlines. Consequently, there has to be a huge untapped market among small business owners or tradespeople who want affordable work vehicles and, in that respect, both Slate and Eleksa recognize the potential. Eleksa certainly seems to have delivered the first candidate as Pony EVs are already in use by courier companies and small-scale contractors. In the US, the Blank Slate has still got to go through the process of federal certification and production.

The Eleksa Pony in the US

There’s no indication that Eleksa wants to sell the Pony EV in the US at all, but theoretically it could work, with certain caveats. Certainly, it doesn’t meet US crash standards for general use, but perhaps people could buy it under the “neighborhood electric vehicle” category, where it would be limited to 25 mph and intended only for local use. Perhaps it could be used on large estates or campuses and other low-speed environments.

Lots of Room for Market Innovation

Eleksa is certainly a niche operation and a modest brand by typical startup comparisons. You could argue that it has beaten a Bezos-backed US start-up to the market with a particular product, even though the project appears to be entirely domestic. Nevertheless, this project does show that the innovation map is changing. Other countries and companies are starting to look at affordable EVs, and they’re now emerging from places other than the hotbeds of auto manufacturing, like Detroit or Munich. Some of these vehicles may be perfect for regions where issues like cost, efficiency, and adaptability matter more than brand name or prestige.

Winning the Race to the Bottom

So, in a world that’s dominated by high-performance EVs with a six-figure price tag, Eleksa’s Pony EV is novel. It’s modest, basic, and unassuming, but it nevertheless exists, and it could be a game-changer for thousands of fleet managers, delivery drivers or small business owners. Yes, the Blank Slate from Slate Auto could well become the next American success story, but Eleksa could claim to have crossed the finishing line first.

Sources: Eleksa