Now that the U.S. subsidiary of the Chinese Kandi Technologies Group has established a firm foothold in the American market with one “affordable” EV, the Kandi K27, the company is rounding out its lineup with a pricey electric car. Well, sort of. Kandi America has debuted the K32, an off-road EV that looks like a midsize pickup but is really more like a side-by-side with a closed cabin.
The Kandi K32 is officially an electric UTV, and it can’t be legally driven on public roads in the U.S. The K32 looks like someone combined a Ford Ranger with a Nissan NP300, but it costs as much or more than either of those trucks.
Of course, the Ranger and NP300 are not EVs, but I’m still reeling over the price of the K32, which starts at $27,699 for the standard range model and goes up to $34,499 for the long range version. The standard K32 will go 60 miles on a charge, while the long range bumps that up to 150 miles, according to Kandi. It’ll take 7.5 hours to charge the K32 from a 240V/32A plug.
The UTV is powered by two electric motors for a combined 28 horsepower, and it sends those horses to all four wheels. It reaches a top speed of 65 miles per hour, but Kandi doesn’t cite any acceleration specs. The K32 weighs just over 4,000 pounds and has a GVWR of 5,357 pounds.
It rides on 17-inch tires, which look deceptively small on the UTV due to the K32's size. It has a wheelbase of 122 inches and an overall length of 214 inches. For reference, a 2021 Ranger Supercrew is 210 inches long. This is a big UTV.
And I’m completely unsure who the market buyer is for this EV, because its mass is at odds with its output. Also, I love the second-gen Ford Ranger and Chevy Silverado on the K32's webpage, just peeking out behind a garbage container.
Either one of those trucks could easily be found on your local Craigslist for a fraction of the price of the K32, and they could be put to use as a dedicated utility vehicle. Hell, an EV conversion for an old pickup might actually cost less than the K32.
I guess machines like the K32 are as much a reflection of the high prices of UTVs, which can easily cost over $30,000 these days. That’s way too much for a side-by-side if you ask me, but at least with ICE models like the Polaris RZR Pro R you’re getting impressive off-road performance. The K32 doesn’t strike me as having similar capabilities, though I could be wrong.
