Liftgate trucks are the workhorses of the delivery industry, combining heavy-hauling capacity with the ability to load or unload at street level instead of needing a loading dock. When I occasionally buy the weird Alibaba vehicles that I’ve become known for, I always have to ask the delivery company, “Do you guys have a lift gate truck to deliver at my house?” But perhaps I’d be set if I bought my own cheap electric liftgate truck instead.
It’s not the weirdest thing we’ve ever featured in the weekly Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column, but it sure is awesome!
This may look like the kind of vehicle you’d expect to be delivering your Alibaba purchases, but it could actually BE your Alibaba purchase instead.
With a 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) capacity, you could haul a lot of stuff with a truck like this. The vendor lists it as a garbage truck, but I think that’s painting this little guy into a box. What I see is 4.1 meters (13.5 feet) of raw, unadulterated potential!
A lift gate truck is the force multiplier of the logistics world, and it could all be yours for a mere $4,000. Or at least, that’s before shipping, taxes, customs tariffs, broker fees, arrival charges, port warehousing and domestic trucking. Or wait, maybe you won’t need to pay for that pesky trucking to your home – you can just drive it out of the container at the port!
Granted you might find the truck’s power and speed to be a bit limiting. There’s just a 5,000W motor in this thing, equivalent to nearly 7 horsepower. But what it lacks in raw power it makes up for in… moderate speed? Ok, so the 30 km/h (18 mph) top speed isn’t exactly going to win you any friends when traffic backs up behind you, but perhaps the first few victims will enjoy the view of this quirky-looking truck.
The range is a bit better at 70 km (43 miles) per charge, but it’s frankly not knocking my socks off. So I’ll concede that the performance isn’t exactly the most impressive we’ve seen before. But this truck isn’t about raw power or speed, it’s about capacity. And when you’re not hauling cargo, you may be able to moonlight as a people mover. The spec sheet lists the passenger capacity as “211 persons”, which is either a typo or an indication that western-style seating is not a feature that comes included standard. We may be looking at a “standing room only” kind of situation.
But that’s not all! You’ll also find that the feature list includes such gems as a CD player, reverse buzzer, drum brakes and non-slip floormats!
Something tells me this won’t be the next vehicle in my growing stable of weird electric rides from China, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have real value in many areas. The slow speed will be limiting, but it could be great as a work truck for around job sites, large campuses or other industrial areas.
And with the ballooning size of trucks in the US, perhaps a weird little electric liftgate truck is exactly what we need right now.
What do you think? Could you see yourself behind the wheel of this odd little truck? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section below!