Texas-based Ayro has announced that its all-electric Vanish mini truck can now be pre-ordered in the United States and Canada for a $250 refundable fee by visiting its website.
The Ayro Vanish is a low-speed electric vehicle (LSEV) that can carry two people and has a maximum payload capacity of 1,800 pounds (816 kilograms) on the non-street-legal variant. And here is where things start to get a bit complicated.
You see, the Texas company advertises the small commercial EV as the ideal vehicle for campuses, last-mile deliveries, and micro distribution, which is perfectly fine, as not everybody needs a Ford F-150 Lightning to do the job.
However, it’s the price of the Vanish that immediately caught our attention because it starts at $33,900. And that’s without any extras like doors or a heater.
The company says customers can choose from three different configurations – a flatbed, a pickup bed, and a van box – which is quite nice, especially because they’re swappable. However, because it’s classified as a low-speed vehicle, the top speed for the road-legal version is 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour), while the non-street-legal version is limited to just 20 mph (32 kph).
The Vanish is powered by an axial flux electric motor that draws electricity from a lithium-ion battery pack, but the technical details of neither have been published, with Ayro simply saying the LSEV has a driving range “greater than 50 miles based on a full charge.”
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Speaking of charging, it can accept power from a 110-volt 20-amp outlet and is also configured for J1772 charging.
There are disc brakes all-around, electronic power-assisted steering, independent suspension on the front axle, and a solid axle for the rear, which also houses the electric motor. Regenerative braking and hill descent control are standard, but a rearview camera, a digital instrument cluster, Bluetooth connectivity, and air conditioning are all optional extras.
The Ayro Vanish is 155 inches (3.9 meters) long, less than 60 inches (1.5 meters) wide, and less than 76 inches (1.7 meters) tall, and has a towing capacity of 1,150 lbs (521 kg). As mentioned before, the towing capacity of the non-street-legal version is 1,800 lbs (816 kg), whereas the street-legal trim can carry 1,200 lbs (544 kg).
The Texas startup says the small EV falls between full-size trucks and golf carts, and it’s compact enough to navigate narrow pathways and double doors.
As always, we’d like to know what you think about this, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.
