Cheaper than a Hilux: AusEV unveils fully electric 4×4 mining and construction ute

Australian electric vehicle (EV) distributor AusEV has unveiled what it describes as Australia’s first fully electric 4×4 mining and construction ute, and which it says will beat its fossil fuel equivalents on the total cost of ownership.

The fully electric utes are actually Ford F-150 Lightnings that have been converted to right hand drive models at the company’s Brendale factory in Brisbane – recently upgraded at a cost of $14 million – and after extensive tests that made them “mine ready” for customers.

These alterations include having an extra 12volt battery for resilience, and also being able to charge that battery with solar cells mounted on the bonnet of the car.

The Ford F150 Lightning boasts a large 131 kWh battery, and can provide vehicle to load facilities that can power tools off grid, and even provide emergency power when generators or the local network is down.

The Ford F-150 Lightning is already a huge hit in the United States, but Ford hasn’t shown any signs yet of bringing a native right-hand-drive version to Australia as of yet. That has left the door open for local companies like AusEV and automotive engineering firm Advanced Manufacturing Queensland (AMQ) to step in to make the car available in Australia.

Requiring a full rebuild by AMQ to convert it to right-hand-drive, the F-150 Lightning has also been homologated so as to meet compliance requirements in overseas markets – such as Barbados and countries in the Pacific.

Obama backs Harvard as Yale faculty members support standing up to Trump

Barack Obama has come out in support of Harvard after the Trump administration elected to cut $2bn of its federal grants after the Ivy League school in Massachusetts rejected what it said was an attempt at “government regulation” of the university.

Meanwhile, faculty at Yale University – another prominent Ivy League institution – has asked its leadership “to resist and legally challenge any unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and … self-governance”.

A statement from Obama, the US president from 2009 to 2017, says: “Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect.

“Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.”