Munro unveils pickup version of its MK 1 4×4 EV and sells out first two years of production
Scottish EV startup Munro Vehicles has just doubled its all-electric lineup with a new pickup version of its MK 1 4×4 that debuted last year. Combined with the original MK 1, Munro’s orders for the pickup have already filled the automaker’s order book into 2025.
Munro Vehicles was founded a mere four years in Glasgow, Scotland, by Russell Peterson and Ross Anderson. The company nomenclature comes from a Scottish mountain that exceeds 3,000 feet that inspired the cofounders during an off-road camping trip in the Highlands. Munro is particularly focused on delivering performance and capability to EV enthusiasts who are specifically interested in off-roading.
That’s where its MK 1 EV comes in. After over three years of development, Munro officially launched its flagship model last December ahead of scaled production in Scotland this year. When that happens, Munro will solidify its place as the first scaled production vehicle manufacturer in the country since 1981.
While the British startup gears up for a slow ramp up in production before expanding its footprint in its homeland, it has already shared plans for a second model – a pickup version of the Munro MK 1 which will come in different variants, including a bright yellow Performance edition. Have a look.
Munro’s 4×4 pickup offers a new look at the MK 1
The new all-electric 4×4 pickup made its debut at Fully Charged Live North today, where it will be on display through the weekend.
As you can see from the images above, the MK 1 pickup is quite similar to the original 4×4 truck, but with a new rear bed that can accommodate a 1,050 kg (2,315 lb) Euro Pallet payload. The Performance model seen above will offer a 3,500 kg (7,716 lb) maximum braked towing capacity for heavier hauls with zero emissions. Here are some other specs:
- Power: 375 HP (280 kw)
- AC charge rates: Overnight (7 kW) and 3.5 hours (22 kW)
- DC charge rate: 15-80% 36 minutes (100 kW)
- Acceleration: 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds (280 kW motor)
- Peak torque: 700 Nm (up to 50 mph)
Like the flagship 4×4 that preceded it, Munro’s pickup version was designed to deliver 50 years of service (with routine maintenance and planned refurbishment). It also comes with the same five year, 100,000 mile warranty as the MK 1 truck.
During the unveiling, Munro Vehicles shared that it has already seen tremendous demand for the MK 1 Pickup and combined with its flagship model, over 200 orders are secured, meaning the startup’s production schedule is booked for the next two years. CEO and co-founder Russell Peterson elaborated:
We launched Munro to fill the significant gap in the market for an electric-powered, four-wheel-drive, utilitarian workhorse. Our vehicles are designed and engineered without compromise from clean sheet principles unimpeded by any existing architecture. The result is a rugged construction created for decades of service delivering ultimate, go-anywhere, off-road ability.
The levels of positive feedback we have experienced from media and customers who have test driven the MK 1 Truck has been unprecedented and the response to the new MK 1 Pickup has been equally positive. This, and the 200 plus pre-orders we have taken across both the truck and Pickup models, gives us great confidence that the vehicles Munro has created are precisely what the market wants and needs and that we can play a key role in assisting those operating in challenging environments such as mining, construction, utilities, agriculture, and defense to meet imminent decarbonization targets.
The Munro MK 1 pickup starts at an MSRP of £49,995 Excl. VAT (~$62,000) and is expected to begin deliveries later this year following a targeted output of 50 EVs. Next, the startup looks to build pre-production prototypes while it works to move to a larger facility in central Scotland next year, where it will create 300 new jobs and scale to 250 EVs annually.
Eventually, Munro expects the new site to produce as many as 2,500 electric vehicles per year. You can check out the original launch event of the MK 1 4×4 Truck below:
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Sennebogen’s new 824 G Electro Battery material handler is being put through its paces at a recycling site in Munich’s Aubing district. And, thanks to its innovative grid-connected/battery system, it never has to stop to recharge!
With its emphasis on the recycling of stainless steel, ferroalloys, and superalloys, CRONIMET Alpha’s recycling operations are loud, and adding the ceaseless drone of diesel engines straining against the mass of all that metal as it’s sorted and fed into bailing presses. That’s why the company was so excited to test out Sennebogen’s new, all-electric 824 G Electro Battery material handler during an extensive trial at its Munich site.
So far, CRONIMET’s operators have been impressed with the new Sennebogen. “The battery-powered machine drives just like a diesel-powered one,” explains equipment operator Zoran Alexsic. “You don’t notice any difference in power – only that everything runs much more smoothly and quietly … you don’t have to take breaks to escape the noise.”
Quiet, but powerful
The Sennebogen 824 G comes standard with a 98 kWh battery, but operators can install up to four modular packs for a total of 392 kWh and roughly eight hours of runtime. Even with a single pack—good for 1.5 to 3 hours—the machine can keep CRONIMET’s operations running almost nonstop, thanks to its built-in dual power mode.
Sennebogen’s dual power mode enables the 824 G to run on battery while drawing power from the grid at the same time. When connected to grid power, the machine can recharge its batteries as it works, eliminating the downtime other BEVs need for charging and giving operators the freedom to reposition the machine on battery power, then plug back in when convenient.
Beyond flexibility, the electric handler is also cleaner, quieter, and more cost-effective than the diesel models it’s designed to replace. By seamlessly cycling between battery and grid power, it reduces both noise on the job site and energy costs during peak hours.
Electrek’s Take
We’ve seen grid-connected equipment assets like this before, and with good reason. Simply put, it takes many more kilowatts of energy to dig up tons and tons of dirt and rocks than it does to send an aerodynamically smoothed sedan down a road. That’s why you still see a push towards hydrogen and other energy-dense fuels in construction – but permanently grid connected assets, whether wired or inductive, could solve for some of the limitations of batteries on job sites that can support them.
If the 824 G Electro Battery is a commercial success, expect Sennebogen to roll out more grid-connected options in the years to come.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Sennebogen.
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MINI has partnered with lifestyle brand, Deus Ex Machina, to develop this. It’s called the Skeg, and it’s a high-performance, racing-inspired electric concept car that’s sure to lighten the mood – by shedding fully 15% of its mass in the quest for speed.
One of a pair of exclusive, one-off concepts based on MINI’s John Cooper Works cars. The Deus Ex Machina Skeg celebrates MINI’s storied racing history with what the company calls, “a clean, minimal, and quiet rebellion,” that draws on materials, technologies, and philosophies from the world of surfing.
The electric MINI JCW Skeg is stripped to its essentials, with much of the steel and aluminum bits replaced with lightweight fiberglass to maximize acceleration while driving the minimalist aesthetic home. The end result weighs 15% less than the standard car – but makes the same stout 190 kW (258 hp) as the production car.
Surf’s up
The interior is stripped back to the barest essentials, reflecting BMW’s vision of a surf culture that prioritizes function over form. MINI claims the end result resembles a mobile surf shop, with fiberglass trays for wetsuits, specially shaped bins, neoprene seats, and other touches that “bring the surf culture into the interior.”
For their part, the BMW and MINI styling team seems pretty proud of its minimalistic electric endeavor. “In this extraordinary collaboration … every single detail has been crafted with artisanal precision and expertise,” says Holger Hampf, Head of MINI Design. “This has resulted in unique characters that are clearly perceived as belonging together through their distinctive design language and use of graphics.”
The concept retains the production version’s 54.2 kWh li-ion battery pack, up to 250 of WLTP range with the production aero kit, sprints from 0-100 km (62 mph) in just 5.9 seconds. With 15% less mass, though, that should jump to more than 255 miles, with 0-60 times dropping below 5.5 seconds.
I dig it – but I’d skip the surf bits and just appreciate the raw composite, minimalist interior look for what it is. Take a look at the image gallery, below, then let us know what you think of MINI’s Skeg concept in the comments.
MINI Skeg concept | gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: BMW MINI.
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Environment
Volvo Penta teams up with e-power to equip Boels with next-gen Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Veteran marine and industrial power solutions company Volvo Penta has joined forces with energy solutions provider e-power to build battery energy storage systems (BESS). Volvo Penta’s battery systems for energy storage will power BESS units built by e-power that can be catered to a range of applications, most notably construction rental clients like Boels Rentals in Europe.
Volvo Penta is a provider of sustainable power solutions that currently serves land and sea applications under the Volvo Group umbrella. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the global manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.
Nearly 100 years later, Volvo Penta remains an industry leader in marine propulsion systems and industrial engines. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the Swedish manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.
For example, all Volvo Penta diesel engines now run on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), reducing well-to-wheel emissions by up to 90% across the marine and industrial power industries. On the zero-emissions side, Volvo Penta has expressed its dedication to fossil-free power solutions, including battery electric components to serve heavy-duty applications such as terminal tractors, forklifts, drill rigs, and feed mixers, to name a few.
To leverage its battery electric value chain, Volvo Penta has also ventured into battery systems for energy storage (or BESS subsystems). These energy-dense, purpose-built BESS subsystems can provide portable, sustainable energy for all-electric charging and reduce grid dependency.
Volvo Penta to deploy battery systems for energy storage
Volvo Penta recently announced a strategic partnership with e-power, a Belgian power solutions provider. Together, Volvo Penta and e-power will develop a scalable Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for Boels Rental.
The collaboration continues a long-standing partnership between all three companies. Boels – one of the largest construction rental companies is a long-time customer of e-power generators that utilize Volvo Penta engines. As the company shifts toward electrification and sustainability, it will again turn to those companies to deliver reliable performance.
Volvo Penta’s BESS subsystem comprises battery packs, a Battery Management System (BMS), DC/DC converters, and thermal management, combining to offer a compact, high-density, and transport-friendly solution optimized for rental operations. The company shared that this BESS design is integration-ready, enabling other OEMs like e-power to adapt and scale systems to customer-specific needs. Per e-power business support director, Jens Fets:
We’ve built our reputation on reliability and efficient power systems. Working again with Volvo Penta, this time on battery energy storage, allows us to meet the growing demand for energy in a silent, low-emissions, compact and mobile design—especially in rental applications.
The deployment of these new battery energy storage systems will help Boels cater to its customers’ growing demand for clean, silent, and mobile energy solutions in construction and other industrial applications.
Aside from being more quickly adaptable to customer needs, Volvo Penta says its BESS architecture marks an overall shift in rental power systems. This is welcome news for all who support a cleaner, more sustainable future across all industries.
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