When it comes to towing pick-up trucks are just about the most useful commercial vehicle on the road, and the Maxus eTerron 9 towing capacity is quite exceptional.
We'll get onto the Maxus eTerron 9 and it's impressive towing ability in a moment, but first a bit of background on towing with an electric vehicle.
As we transition to electric vehicles we've got used to EVs having less towing capacity than their diesel equivalent. Initially, electric vans didn't have a towing capacity at all, but that's slowly started to change.
Now many electric vans have a respectable towing capacity that's edging closer to the ability of their internal combustion engine (ICE) siblings.
For pick-up trucks, the benchmark for towing has always been 3.5 tonnes. It's the maximum permitted towing capacity for a light commercial vehicle and therefore the figure that all manufacturers aim for.
Whether you're towing a braked or unbraked trailer, a pick-up truck is the perfect weapon but as models like the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok have been getting bigger and bigger it has made towing at full gross train weight - that's 3.5-tonnes for the vehicle and 3.5-tonnes for the trailer even harder.
Throw in the complexity of having a very heavy electric pick-up truck and that makes the prospect of towing even trickier.
The first electric pick-up truck, the Maxus T90EV does have a fairly decent towing capacity. The T90EV is able to tow up to 1,500kg for a braked trailer and 750kg for an unbraked trailer. However, its gross train weight is just 4050kg.
As a result you'll have to decided between either having a full payload or a maximum weight trailer on the hook. The Maxus T90EV towing capacity and GTW essentially means you can have a full payload and tow a small trailer up to 750kg, but if you want to tow the maximum 1500kg you’ll have to sacrifice some payload.
So... that's how towing with an electric truck works, but what about the eTerron 9's towing capacity, gross train weight and other vital statistics.
Maxus eTerron 9 has a towing capacity of 3.5-tonnes, making it just as useable as a diesel pick-up truck when it comes to towing.
The instant torque of the electric motor makes the eTerron 9 an ideal truck for towing heavy trailers, caravans, plant equipment or car trailers.
You can tow a braked trailer of up to 3500kg with the eTerron 9, but it is also possible to tow an unbraked trailer of up to 750kg with the electric pick-up.
The other important number in the equation is knowing what the gross train weight (GTW) or gross train mass (GTM) as it is sometimes called is. That's because the GTW will determine how much payload you can carry and how much you can tow at the same time.
The Maxus eTerron 9 has a gross train weight of 6500kg.
That's a big improvement over the T90EV, and it makes the eTerron 9 almost completely usable for both payload and towing.
Unfortunatley you won't quite be able to use the full Maxus eTerron 9 payload capacity because the 620kg payload together with the 2880kg kerbweight, and a 3.5-tonne trailer equals 7 tonnes. You'll therefore only be able to have 120kg of payload in the rear of the truck if you plan to tow a full 3.5-tonnes.
