Riddara RD6 plugged-in as South Africa’s first electric bakkie

Ahead of the imminent return of Geely to South Africa, its electric commercial vehicle brand, Radar Auto, has officially been approved for the local market from May this year.

What is it?

Known outside China as Riddara, the division’s only model, the Radar Horizon bakkie, will formally become the Republic’s first electric bakkie with a choice of rear-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive.

Available in its home market since 2022, the Horizon, which carries the Riddara RD6 name in export markets, rides on the unibody Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform developed by fellow Geely-owned brand Zeekr, and first introduced to South Africa by the Volvo EX30.

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Measuring 5 260 mm long, 1 900 mm wide and 1 830 mm tall, the RD6 has a wheelbase of 3 120 mm and will be imported by Enviro Automative, whose current portfolio includes the DFSK light commercial bakkies and vans, as well as South Africa’s cheapest EV at present, the Dayun Yuehu S5.

The importer’s first upmarket product, the double cab-only RD6 has a 1 030 kg payload, a loadbin capable of taking 1 200-litres and a tow rating of 3 000 kg.

Claimed ground clearance is 225 mm and the wading depth 815 mm, with the lack of an engine translating into 70-litres of added storage space below the bonnet.

Dual or single motor

On the power side, the initial line-up comprises a single double cab variant, differentiated only by the electric motor count.

Motivated by a 73-kWh lithium phosphate battery pack, the rear-wheel-drive RD6 develops 200kW/384Nm and will get from 0-100 km/h in 7.3 seconds. The claimed top speed is 185 km/h and the all-electric range 424 km.

By comparison, the dual-motor four-wheel-drive makes 315kW/595Nm, enough for a top speed of 190 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds.

Despite its greater output, the all-paw gripping model has the same range as its sibling.

Supporting DC charging up to 110 kW, the RD6 battery will require 30 minutes waiting from 30-80%.

In addition, the charging setup supports vehicle-to-load, which means as much as six kilowatts can be fed back into the grid.

Enviro Automotive has also confirmed that the lesser 63-kWh and more powerful 86-kWh models will be introduced at some stage, the former solely with rear-wheel-drive and the latter exclusively with four-wheel-drive.

Spec

While no pricing details emerged, Enviro did confirm the RD6’s specification sheet as consisting of the following:

• six-speaker sound system;
• LED head and taillights;
• dual-zone climate control;
• keyless entry;
• push-button start;
• electric driver’s seat;
• leather upholstery;
• 10.25-inch instrument cluster display;
• tyre pressure monitor;
• reverse camera;
• rear parking sensors.

While equipped with Apple CarPlay, the 12.3-inch infotainment system omits Android Auto, with the alternative being the Carbit Link mirroring app.

On the four-wheel-drive, the RD6 sports a transparent chassis view camera, an eight-speaker sound system, full Android Auto, a 14.6-inch infotainment display, Matrix LED headlights, and a full suite of Level 2 autonomous driving system consisting of:

• Adaptive Cruise Control;
• Automatic Emergency Braking;
• Front Collision Warning;
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Reverse Automatic Braking;
• Lane Keep Assist;
• Blind Sport Monitoring;
• Lane Departure Warning;
• Lane Change Assist

In addition, the four-wheel-drive’s drive mode selector comes with four additional settings over and above the two-wheel-drive’s Eco, Comfort and Sport – these being Sand, Mud, Off-Road and Wading.

Watch this space

“We are very excited to be the first company to bring this electric 4×4 to the South African market. After care service, parts and other essential requirements will be provided by the Enviro Automotive Group,” company CEO Gideon Wolfaardt said in a statement.

As mentioned, pricing is set to be announced within the coming months, however, Enviro Automotive has confirmed the inclusion of a five-year/150 000 km warranty and an eight-year/200 000 km battery warranty with the RD6’s sticker.

Additional information from carnewschina.com and Raddara UAE.

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