Will the Slate truck come to Australia?

A new kid on the block says it will disrupt the EV market, and that’s Slate Automotive.

The new brand, which is part-owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, recently unveiled its first complete vehicles, a three-car line-up consisting of a ute, mid-size SUV, and large SUV.

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The Slate ute starts life as a bare-bones modular truck that can be chopped and changed with accessories, and “no mechanics certification required”.

The entry-level grade is completely barebones, with 17-inch steel wheels, a wrapped (non-painted exterior), and a basic cabin, skipping standard equipment such as an interior touchscreen.

You start with this, and then you can choose optional components to further increase luxury and, of course, the price.

The standard powertrain is a 150kW/264Nm single electric motor driving the rear wheels, enabling a 0–97km/h time of around 8.0 seconds and a 145km/h top speed. Two battery sizes are offered – a Standard 52.7kWh battery with a 241km driving range, and an Extended 84.3kWh battery that offers a claimed 386km between charges.

According to the website, safety hasn’t been compromised in the pursuit of lower prices with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning, and “up to eight airbags” (the ambiguous wording suggests that price could come into play if you want all eight airbags).

The entry-level, two-door, two-seat pick-up starts at $US27,500 ($AUD43,091), which the car maker says reduces to around $US20,000 ($AUD31,339) after local US EV incentives.

It all sounds very exciting, but will it come to Australia?

Is the Slate car coming to Australia?

The brand has not confirmed that it will be selling its range outside of the US, and there’s a chance it will never make it to Australia.

With a population of just under 27 million, our new car market is tiny compared to other right-hand-drive (RHD) markets such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and South-East Asia. That means that if a car is not sold in other RHD markets, it probably won’t be sold in Australia.

If someone picks up the bill and chooses to import the vehicles to Australia, there is the opportunity to convert them locally. Ford has seen success with locally converting the F-150 through RMA, as has Ram with its entire range through its partnership with Walkinshaw.

It’s a low-risk strategy that allows these companies to sell the vehicles to the distributor without the cost associated with purchasing the tooling needed to convert them.

The issue with this is that it inflates the overall cost of the vehicle. Take the 2024 Ford F-150, for example. In the US, it’s a $US65,495 ($AUD105,000) truck. In Australia, that same vehicle is $140,945 (plus on-road costs).

That’s because there are costs involved with importation, conversion and taxes.

A bulk of the cost is converting the vehicles here. As is the case with many US domestic pick-up trucks, the downside is that they are made in left-hand drive.

It’s not just a case of swapping the steering wheel and pedals to the right; components need to be re-engineered almost entirely.

That includes a new steering rack, different angling of the headlights, a new brake booster/master cylinder, a new pedal box, and a new dash and cluster.

Then there’s the cost of establishing the brand in Australia. While Walkinshaw and RMA are backed by their American parent brands, Slate would either need to establish the brand in the country or find an already established importer to bring the vehicles in and gain trust in the brand Down Under.

Drive would estimate that it will cost an additional $25,000 to $30,000 (based on other vehicles being imported and locally converted) on top of the actual cost of the vehicle. That means the base model will cost upwards of $60,000.

The saving grace among other imported and locally converted models is its size and EV powertrain. These open it up to the Japanese and UK markets, where something as large as the Tesla Cybertruck and full-sized American utes are overlooked.

Having a factory-constructed right-hand-drive vehicle drops a massive cost off the total price, since new parts do not need to be engineered at a small scale.

Unfortunately, with a vehicle this cheap, volume is its friend. This means that Australia and New Zealand will most likely be the last right-hand-drive markets to get the Slate if it is made in right-hand drive from the factory.

With no glaring issues with ADRs and safety equipment, there’s a good chance that if the Slate begins production in right-hand drive, it will come to Australia. But don’t expect it to cost $20,000 here.

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