In what is a historic shift for utility vehicles in Australia, the production version of Isuzu’s all-electric D-Max ute has been unveiled. The electric D-Max debuted at the Birmingham commercial vehicle show in the UK, where customer deliveries will commence in March 2026. And though it’s also slated for Australia, its local debut hinges on the details of the locally legislated New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). That’s a pretty big deal for Isuzu and a game changer for the ute market Down Under, which has been a veritable diesel orgy when it comes to sales.
An Aussie Favourite Goes Electric
It proved already itself as one of Australia’s favourite utes, featuring regularly in the country’s best selling vehicle lists. The Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux have long ruled the roost but the D-Max has built up a loyal following on the back of solid reliability, fort-like construction and no-nonsense practicality.
Now this workhorse is getting an electric heart. The production D-Max EV remains closely related to the concept vehicle that was revealed last year, maintaining the 3500kg towing capacity and 1000kg payload available on its 3.0-litre turbo-diesel equivalents. That’s quite some achievement when you consider that the EV version makes do with a bespoke DeDion coil-sprung rear suspension layout instead of the traditional leaf springs and aims to boost agility while keeping a kerb weight of 2350kg – that’s some 200kg greater than the top X-Terrain diesel.
For any tradie or weekend warrior who may have had doubts about capability when it comes to electric utes, these are quite eye‐turning claims. The electric D-Max isn’t just a lofty eco statement – it’s going to be a simply massive flat bed.
Under the Bonnet: Strip and Whip
So what makes this electric BEV a pioneer? The D-Max BEV is 4×4-equipped as standard, with Isuzu stating that it is propelled by dual motors, which offer the power to all four wheels at all times, with a motor on each axle respectively. They combine to deliver outputs that total 140kW (43kW front; 97kW rear), which on both hands fulfill the power of the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, but you won’t get near the diesel’s 450Nm peak-torque with 325Nm on offer (108Nm front; 217Nm rear).
The result is a ute that feels the same but not the same. A 0-100km/h time of 10.1 seconds and a top speed well in excess of 130km/h doesn’t smack of winning drag battles, but it’s more than sufficient in a working vehicle. At the heart of the car is a 66.9kWh battery pack under the floor – and the all-important WLTP range figure is 263km. Who are the quantum devils here?The figure of range (200 miles) is actually quite reasonable when you consider the quantum devils of battery technology and fleet width.
Charging features are more industry standard fare than anything groundbreaking. Charging using DC up to 50kW, the D-Max EV can replenish a 20-80 percent charge in around an hour. Home charging time will be just over 10 hours for a full battery using a 11kW AC charger.
Familiar Face, Electric Heart
One of the strongest features of the electric D-Max is how ordinary it appears. Isuzu has sensibly steered clear of trying to make its electric ute appear like something out of a sci-fi film. Other than front quarter and rear ‘EV’ graphics, a grill featuring blue detailing and the fitment of a CCS charging port instead of the diesel fuel filler, the electric D-Max is almost indistinguishable inside and out from its diesel 4×4 stablemates.
This in the weeds styling approach is logical for a segment that’s usually suspicious of wild looking refreshers. For a large number of Australia u “When people say, it’s a ute, it’s a ute, it’s a ute, we can’t move away from the ute,’ ” Andrew Doyle, the director of electric vehicles at GM Holden, the Australian subsidiary of G.M., said in a telephone interview from Melbourne at the time.“When you start to look at the DNA of what Australians love, they love the look of a ute and the functionality of it.” te buyers, especially those who rely on their vehicles for work, function trumps fashion, and that familiar design language is likely to make the transition to electric power easier.
The cabin is familiar but has modern features and technology. Inside is a 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with smartphone mirroring, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats and front/rear parking sensors. These additions ensure the E-D-Max is competitive in a segment that has seen comfort and convenience come to the fore.
THE AUSTRALIAN QUESTION. When will it come?
Which leads us to the burning question for Australian D-Max fans – when can they expect the electric version to be available? The timeline has shifted in the past one year as Isuzu has been fine-tuning its global strategy on electrification.
In a first, Isuzu said the D-Max BEV would at first go on sale in “selected mainland Europe markets including Norway in 2025”, with a roll-out to Australia, Britain, Thailand and “other countries based on market demand and EV charging infrastructure maturity.” This indicated we could see the electric D-Max around late 2025 or early 2026.
But the latest date is the latter of those two dates. With UK deliveries now due to begin in March 2026, we can expect the Australian launch to follow in the second half of that year, pending the finalisation of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).
In fact, the timing is something of an advantage for Isuzu, ahead of several of its key competitors. The surprise revelation and tighter timeline for the D-Max BEV’s arrival is a major win for Isuzu over automotive superpowers such as Toyota with its HiLux and Ford with the Ranger. Both Toyota and Ford have trialled electric editions of their popular utes but it seems neither are close to releasing production-ready completely electric 4X4s in Australia.
How Isuzu Australia has been proceeding with its Cautioned Approach
Isuzu’s Australian arm has so far taken a down-to-earth stance on electrification. Isuzu Ute Australia in February revealed that it was weighing several electrified options for the D-Max to meet NVES emissions targets, including mild-hybrid (MHEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), full-electric (EV) and even fuel-cell electric (FCEV) and extended-range electric (EREV) powertrains.
Back then Isuzu Ute Australia deputy general manager Sadanori Sugita had confirmed the D-Max EV would make it to the Australian market “shortly” at the time, but managing director Junta Matsui wanted to hold off confirming any electrified powertrains until the full details of the NVES had been laid out.
This cautious placement is a result of a commercial environment within Australia where ute buyers are historically conservative, and a national electric vehicle infrastructure that is – particularly in rural and remote parts of the country – relatively underdeveloped.
Market: The Shifting Ute Scene in Australia
The electric D-Max goes on sale into a market in flux. But there are hints that the national obsession with utes might be starting to cool, after Ford Ranger sales tumbled 14.6 per cent from a year ago, the Isuzu D-Max slid by 27.9 per cent and the Toyota Hilux by 20 per cent. These changes may indicate a transformation in buyer preferences where small and medium SUVs are concerned.
When it does come, the electric D-Max will not exactly be stepping into the unknown. Chinese-built LDV aT60 is the lone pure-electric ute on sale in Australia (for a hefty $92,990 before on-roads), while a crack of plug-in hybrid models are expected from the BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha and before too soon we will see a Ford Ranger PHEV. There are several other pure electric utes in the pipeline as well, with the LDV eTerron 9 due about mid-2025 and perhaps even a Toyota HiLux EV in early 2025.
Price Issues: The Electric Premium
Final pricing hasn’t been released yet but buyers are likely to pay a hefty premium for the electric D-Max compared to its diesel siblings. Expect the battery-powered D-Max to be charge a hefty price premium over diesel versions if past form is anything to go by – witness the price delta between the ICE and electric versions of its LDV eT60, for instance, which is rear-wheel drive, not 4×4, and still carries a hefty price premium.
It’s this price disparity that continues to be one of the major barriers to electric ute acceptance in Australia, where bang for buck is an important purchasing metric for many, especially those using their utes for work.
A Human’s Perspective: What This Will Mean For Aussie Ute Buyers
Standing in my own driveway, admiring my diesel D-Max caked in a light covering of outback dust from a weekend camping trip at the beach, I can’t help but wonder what the electric version of the go-to Aussie ute would mean for the day-to-day Aussie ute owner.
The 263km prescribed range may also be perfectly fine for city-based tradies with predictable daily rounds and an opportunity for home charging. Plug it in overnight and fill it for another day of work. The immediate torque of electric motors would help ride the uneven surfaces of construction sites,” and the lower cost of operation would be appreciated by small business owners, Ram said.
But what of the grey nomads pulling caravans across the Nullarbor? Or the farmers who can be days — if not weeks — between trips to town? Or the mine laborers driving hundreds of kilometers down remote dirt roads? For these Australians, the move to electric utes will need to not only lead to better range but will also require a rethink in infrastructure and mindset.
But change is on the way, ready or not. Diesel-only ute fleets is set to be a thing of the past with emissions requirements tightening both around the world and here. The electric D-Max is not only the future of Isuzu, but if I’m reading the winds correctly, the face of Australia’s automotive future as well.
But for now, we wait — for Australian release dates, for local pricing and, ultimately, to see how this electric workhorse performs here on Australian roads, from cities to the outback. The path to electrification goes on and the D-Max is in the fray.