LDV expected to be first to answer consumer call for fully family-sized EV.

SPECULATION that a Chinese make’s inbound people mover will avail here purely in electric format – a new chapter push that could re-energise the moribund category – is being aired.

The website for a national motoring magazine claims the Mifa 9, a large seven-seater model from LDV, will sell here in the battery-pure format that was unveiled internationally only last year at a motor show in China but has also been confirmed for the United Kingdom.

The model will likely raise interest from seekers of electric vehicles designed to accommodate large families. That demand has yet to be met by the sector – contenders to date have been five-seaters.

LDV is already an outlier in the market, having become the only brand offering an electric utility vehicle, the $79,999 rear-drive T60.

The ute’s price reminds of the unavoidable premium attached with going electric – it’s significantly more expensive than the combustion model from which it derives – and that factor could well also reflect in the Mifa 9’s positioning and, as result, accessibility for budget-minded buyers.

Motoring media, including MotoringNZ.com. have been invited to a LDV media event next week. That’s when the Mifa 9’s specification and price will be announced, according to the magazine.

Data from LDV in the UK relates much about the product. It says the model is the first LDV model to be built on a dedicated electric platform, powered by a 180kW/350Nm electric motor, coupled to a 90kWh ternary lithium battery pack from specialist battery producer CATL.

On the reasonably accurate European WLTP test cycle, the LDV Mifa 9 achieved a claimed driving range of 440km.

Charging via an 11kW home wall-charger takes approximately 8.5 hours, while DC rapid charging requires approximately 36 minutes to go from 20-80 per cent full, the brand has claimed.

The T60, by comparison, has a 130kW/310Nm electric motor fed by an 88.5kWh battery, with quoted range of 325km.

On the safety front, LDV says it expects the Mifa 9 to achieve a maximum five-star Euro NCAP and ANCAP rating, but there’s no result yet.

Features include a front-centre and three-row curtain airbags as well as the expected dual-front and front-side airbags. Driver assists include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane change assist, emergency lane-keep assist and a fatigue reminder.

The Mifa 9 has just released in Australia, but with a 160kW/360Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine that might not be presented here, some media have suggested.

The seven seat layout presents in a 2-2-3 seating arrangement. An eight-seat model is also in development, with production to start next year.

The specification for Australia tops with a lushly-appointed Executive flagship, pictured, which has leather trim and four-way electrically adjustable front and mid-row seats, the latter accessed via the electric dual-sliding rear doors.

The Executive also has fold-out tray tables, footrests, seven USB ports, the choice of 64 ambient lighting colours and wired Apple CarPlay. Options include a multi-function heated steering wheel, digital rear view mirror and wireless device charging pad.

LDV also sells the model in China under the Maxxus branding, which lends a different frontal styling to that meted the LDV product, whose signature is a over-sized chrome-heavy ‘grille’, reminiscent of the bold looked meted some Lexus models, notably the LX570.

LDV says its product has being designed and engineered to ‘disrupt’ the people mover segment – a job easily undertaken in this market as the segment has been in increasingly poor health since its heyday of the 1990s, when the likes of the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Previa and Mazda MPV were strong performers. The market then shifted toward sports utilities and now only the Odyssey remains, with minimal penetration.