Giannini Automobili, a company with a long-standing history based in Rome, has recently introduced its new two-seater electric pickup truck, which is now available for purchase starting at $31,112.
Giannini, a company with a rich history dating back to 1920 and known primarily for its repairs and maintenance of cars, has recently made headlines with the release of its two-seater electric truck. While few outside of Italy may have heard of the brand, Giannini was once a fierce competitor of Abarth, producing sports and racing cars based on Fiat small cars. Now under the ownership of the Polverelli family, the company has decided to return to car production with a focus on electric vehicles. In fact, Giannini developed an electric car prototype based on the Fiat 500 as far back as 1967, but the market was not yet ready for it. Today, however, electric vehicles are a major trend in the auto industry, particularly in Europe where EU authorities plan to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2035.
The Giannini Uso is a newly unveiled small electric pickup truck, belonging to the L7e electric quadricycle class, and it doesn’t require modern passive and active safety systems. The pickup has a metal body that is sturdy and developed mainly in Italy by local specialists. It’s not a badge-engineering Chinese model, though some components and assemblies of the Giannini Uso could be of Chinese origin.
The Giannini Uso pickup truck has a length of 3170 mm (excluding the spare wheel), width of 1615 mm, and height of 1610 mm. Its cargo area measures 1100 x 750 x 500 mm, with a load capacity of 250 kg. A drawer sized at 750 x 750 x 170 mm can be added to the body. The pickup also features a small front trunk, but the interior of the cabin has not yet been revealed. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, heated front and rear windows, and seat upholstery in either leatherette or wear-resistant fabric.
Giannini Uso features a single electric motor situated on the rear axle, powering the rear wheels exclusively, with no all-wheel drive models available. It boasts a maximum output of 30 kW (40 hp) and 120 Nm of torque, while providing a constant power output of 15 kW (20 hp) and reaching a top speed of 90 km/h. Its battery has a capacity of 21 kWh, providing a range of 235 km under the WMTC motorcycle cycle on road tires, but only 140 km on off-road tires, like those shown in the photographs. The onboard charger with a capacity of 6.6 kW can fully charge the battery in 3 hours. The road tires have dimensions of 155/65 R 14, while off-road tires are 165/70 R 14. All wheels are equipped with disc brakes and feature McPherson suspension all around.
Giannini aims to deliver each custom-ordered Uso pickup truck within a period of 5 months. The vehicle comes with a 2-year warranty, and the battery has a 4-year warranty. The company has an extensive network of workshops to ensure that maintenance will not be an issue. However, the price of $31,112 seems relatively high compared to some of its competitors, such as the French Kilow La Bagnole, which starts at only $10,915.
