Scotland’s electric off-road workhorse: £50k Munro MK1 Pick-Up unveiled

Scotland hadn’t launched a new car for 40 years before 2022 – now it has two.

Munro Vehicles, based near Glasgow, released its MK1 Truck in December. And today it lifted the lid on its follow-up model, the MK1 Pick-Up.

The all-electric off-road workhorse has a claimed range of over 300 miles on a full charge and is available to order now with prices starting at £49,995 excluding taxes.

Here’s everything you need to know about it…

The automotive start-up – which was only formed in 2019 – says the MK1 Pick-Up is the first ‘light vehicle to go into production in Scotland in more than four decades’.

It shows off “unique capabilities” that will best use it in “challenging industries such as mining, construction, utilities, agriculture and defense” to help environmentally conscious individuals and companies “meet looming low-carbon goals without compromising performance,” it says brand. .

“Priced from £49,995 excluding VAT with deliveries commencing later this year, we have already secured over 200 orders for the MK_1 Pick-Up, with three coming from FTSE 100 companies and ten from FTSE 250 companies,” confirmed the CEO of Munro. and co-founder Russell Peterson.

“With a full two-year order backlog for both the MK1 Pick-Up and MK1 Truck, Munro must accelerate its search for larger premises to meet customer demand.”

The first version to premiere is the highest spec ‘performance’ variant, complete with monster truck-style suspension, a robust square body and fat off-road tyres.

Built on the same platform as the MK1 Truck, the biggest change is the huge loading bay at the rear, with a load capacity of 1,050 kg Euro pallet.

The top model also benefits from a maximum braked towing capacity of 3,500 kg.

This should be enough to “effortlessly” transport all types of cargo, including “farm implements and livestock to construction and emergency response equipment,” says the manufacturer.

The pickup can also haul people, with three independent rear seats for a total of five occupants.

The commercial vehicle is powered by a new state-of-the-art 280 kW electric powertrain.

The Scottish start-up claims to accelerate from standstill to 100 km/h in just 4.9 seconds.

Charging the 82.4kWh battery from 15 to 80 percent using a 100kW DC charger can be completed in just 36 minutes – essentially less time than it takes a construction worker to finish his tea and a sandwich to eat during his lunch break.

With a fully charged battery, the MK1 Pick-Up would have a range of ‘more than 300 kilometers’.

This means it should be fine for up to 16 hours of off-road driving between charges.

The basic appearance of the vehicle, with its cubical proportions and flat body, was designed and developed in Britain with a purpose – and with British conditions and terrain in mind.

Munro says its picks were to combine “rugged reliability and easy repairability,” meaning owners should be able to make cosmetic repairs themselves – though they may want to leave powertrain maintenance to the company’s qualified EV technicians .

The battery pack consists of 35 lithium battery modules mounted in three heavy-duty aluminum boxes under the vehicle, which should provide adequate protection against heavy clatter and impact during working hours.

“This arrangement ensures that it is quick, easy and inexpensive to replace individual battery modules when necessary,” says the brand.

Ross Anderson, head of powertrains, explained: “A fully integrated heat pump-based thermal management system increases efficiency, and the Munro’s battery pack is guaranteed to deliver 80 percent of its original energy capacity for at least eight years and 100,000 miles.”

Anderson says that because the Munro MK1 models are designed to last for decades, the brand promises to recondition or replace the battery for customers when it shows signs of deterioration.

“This has the added benefit of guaranteeing the future value of our customers’ vehicles,” he told us.

“We will work with companies that specialize in reuse and recycling to earn back the residual value of the battery pack, so that we can install the latest battery technology at a reasonable price.”

While it won’t have a dealer network, each vehicle will be sold with an extended five-year/100,000-mile warranty, which Anderson describes as “super flexible” for customers.

“We recognize and respect our customers’ right to repair and maintain their vehicle, and doing so will not void the warranty,” Anderson added.

Owners who are unable – or don’t want to take care of the vehicle themselves – can take their Munro vehicles to a local agent or ask the company’s service fleet to visit them and perform the work on site at their convenience.

“We launched Munro to fill the big gap in the market for an electric-powered, four-wheel drive, utility workhorse,” added Peterson.

“Our vehicles are designed and developed without compromise based on clean slate principles, unencumbered by existing architecture.

“The result is a rugged construction built for decades of service, delivering ultimate off-road capability that you can take anywhere.”

The company’s CEO says the vehicle has strong global appeal and has already drawn up plans – with its financial partners – to “exploit” the gap in the market for a zero-emissions workhorse machine.

Although the MK1 Pick-Up can be ordered, it is not quite ‘showroom’ ready yet.

Munro confirms that it will soon move into a pre-production prototype testing phase before full production begins and the first deliveries arrive at customers from the end of the year.

Munro’s head office is located in East Kilbride.

Due to moving to a a new purpose-built factory in central Scotland next year, where it plans to produce 250 vehicles in its first year, rising to 2,500 a year by the time it reaches full capacity in 2027.

The factory will also create 300 new jobs in the area.

It will be the first series production vehicle in Scotland since the closure of the Linwood plant near Paisley by Chrysler UK in February 1981 – some 42 years ago.

It was the assembly line where the Hillman Imp was built between 1963 and 1976, and its closure caused mass unemployment in the area – famously referenced in the song “Letter from America” ​​on the Proclaimers’ 1987 debut album, which featured the text: ‘Linwood no more’.