Scottish maker Munro unveils £50,000 MK1 electric pickup

The UK’s first electric pickup has been swiftly followed by its second, with Scottish start-up Munro Vehicles joining Chinese maker Maxus in offering a battery-powered option.

However, it’s a very different beast, with its big motor, full-time 4×4 system and ultra-utilitarian interior starkly juxtaposing the more conventional-looking, rear-wheel-drive T90EV featured recently in Farmers Weekly.

See also: First impressions: Munro’s no-nonsense electric off-roader

The imaginatively named MK1 Pickup is an adaptation of Munro’s recently launched debut vehicle, the MK1 Truck station wagon, but comes in a good deal cheaper.

In “Performance” guise, as pictured, it has an electric motor capable of producing 280kW – about 375hp – and 700Nm of instantly available torque.

On paper, at least, this makes it rather spicy, comfortably trumping the Maxus’ comparatively feeble 150kW/201hp and delivering a jet-like 0-60mph sprint time of 4.9sec.

This is enough to leave even the V6 petrol-powered, performance-tuned Ford Raptor (7.9sec) eating dust.

There are more modest options though, with workaday “Utility” and “Range” variants putting out 220kW.

All are paired with a 82.4kWh battery pack reckoned to be good for a maximum range of 190 miles, or up to 16 hours on a single charge when operating off-road.

This takes just 36min to replenish from 15% to 80% when using a 100kW DC charger.

© Munro

Strengthening the original designs

Beyond the electric powertrain, most of the running gear is pretty conventional.

The drive motor is directly bolted to a two-speed transfer case with central diff-lock, plus there are regular prop shafts and solid axles.

This Defender-like configuration gives buyers a full-time, mechanical four-wheel-drive system.

But rather than using off-the-shelf Land Rover bits, the firm has re-engineered them to give extra strength and iron out some of the weaknesses of the original designs.

Chopping off the back of the existing station wagon has allowed for a load bed big enough to swallow a Euro pallet, with a payload of 1,050kg.

It is also rated to tow the magic 3.5t, though maxing out on that is likely to savage the driving range.

Prices start at £49,995 which, by luck or judgement, is just a few quid off that of the Maxus.

Deliveries are slated to commence later this year, but with current production capacity limited to just 50 vehicles a year, and 200 orders already lodged, lead times are now about two years.

Munro hopes to alleviate some of that pressure by moving to a new purpose-built site near Glasgow in 2024, where it intends to ramp up production to 250 vehicles next year and 2,500 annually by 2027.