Isuzu UK is giving the new D-Max EV a factory-fit solar option, aimed at fleets that need their electric pick-ups to keep working rather than sitting around with a flat 12-volt battery.
The system comes from Genie Insights and can be specified as part of the vehicle build. That means it is installed before the D-Max EV reaches the customer, instead of being added later by a third-party converter.
The panel is not there to turn the D-Max EV into a solar-powered pick-up. It is designed to support the vehicle’s 12-volt battery and onboard electrical equipment, especially for operators running telematics, cameras, safety lights or other auxiliary kit through the day.
The D-Max EV is already being sold in the UK as a working electric pick-up, with full-time 4WD, more than one tonne of payload, 3.5-tonne towing capacity, a claimed 263km range and an eight-year battery warranty. UK pricing starts from £59,995 (RM327,000) excluding VAT for the e DL40, rising to £62,495 (RM340,000) for the e V-Cross.
Genie’s D-Max EV system uses a bespoke 75-watt, high-voltage panel mounted on the load-bed roof. It measures 947mm by 687mm, weighs 2.5kg and is just 3mm thick, so it should not add much drag or weight to a vehicle where range and payload still count.
The panel uses CIGS, or copper indium gallium selenide, technology.
Genie said its commercial-vehicle solar panels can work in low light, cloudy weather and shaded town-centre conditions, instead of needing direct sunlight all day. Its panels are also made in the UK, flexible, shatter-resistant and designed without drilling into the vehicle roof.
The Isuzu link follows earlier fleet use with Network Rail, where diesel D-Max vehicles were already in service. Genie has fitted solar systems to about 450 Network Rail commercial vehicles, mainly vans, over the past two years.
Genie said it has sold almost 15,000 commercial-vehicle solar systems, including to fleets linked to British Gas and BT/Openreach.
For fleets, this is about minimising downtime. The D-Max EV still has to carry tools, tow, sit on site and run equipment.
The solar panel will not do much for driving range, but it can help keep the 12-volt battery alive when auxiliary systems are drawing power.
