Australia's newest electric ute isn't made for you to buy: The 2024 Tembo Tusker is a rebadged Chinese ute coming to challenge the LDV eT60 and converted Toyota HiLux EVs for mining supremacy

The Tembo Tusker is the latest entrant into Australia’s hotly contested ute market and you could be forgiven for not knowing the name. 

Unlike the much-anticipated BYD Shark, Kia Tasman and JAC T60, the Tembo Tusker is single-mindedly targeting the mining sector in Australia rather than small businesses and private buyers. 

Tembo was founded in the Netherlands and is currently owned by Vivopower. It is primarily known for its electric vehicle conversions, largely the Toyota HiLux, and first launched here in 2018.

The Tusker is Tembo’s first foray into a whole vehicle and it claims to have collected 50 orders so far and committed to bringing 200 examples into Australia and New Zealand.

“The Tembo Tusker represents the best value electric ute in Australia, with a starting price from $74,000,” said CCO of parent company Vivopower Chris Mallios. 

“We’ve achieved this through our years of experience building electric 4x4 vehicles for demanding users, and our capital light production strategy that partners with global best-of-breed manufacturers and suppliers. 

“We are confident that the Tusker’s performance and affordability will lead the charge in electrifying the $16bn per annum Australian Ute market,” he said.

Tembo's claimed start price of $74,000 excludes GST, but adding the necessary tax brings the ute's ask up to $81,400 before on-road costs. This is for the Tusker S, a basic single-cab version with a 65kWh battery and 120kW/330Nm rear-mounted electric motor good for a top speed of 120km/h. 

Tembo claims this battery is good for 330km of electric driving range and a larger 75kWh pack that’s allied with a 130kW motor increases that to 400km from a charge – though the efficiency standard that Tembo is claiming is not clear. 

Those numbers are a lot more optimistic than its main rival, the LDV eT60, which features an 88kWh pack for 330km of WLTP electric driving range. The LDV was much dearer at launch, commanding $92,990 before on-road costs.

Tembo also boasts of a 1000kg payload and three-tonne braked towing capacity for the Tusker though the vehicle is yet to be homologated for Australia. Looking back to the similarly powerful eT60, it is only certified to tow 1000kg braked.

A more luxurious dual-cab version, known as the Tusker-D, claims to offer an extra 10kW and the option of a larger 77kWh battery pack as well as four-wheel drive. It is not clear whether it has two electric motors or how much it will retail for.

Tembo says the vehicle is built in China and it appears to be a rebadged version of a Dayun Auto pick-up called the D5.

We weren’t able to find the Dayun electric for sale, however a diesel version of the Dayun diesel can be purchased via Chinese online marketplace Alibaba from around $18,500 for a single unit or $13,800 for more than three, excluding shipping costs.

Dayun is expecting full Australian homologation shortly. A range-extender version is apparently in the works and could offer up to 1000km driving range.

Tembo is expecting its first deliveries of the Tusker to be complete by 2026. If the project is a success, it could become the brand’s bread and butter with its project of producing electrically motivated Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series being pushed back to 2030.