Munro’s first production vehicle is go

SPECIALIST Scottish 4x4 BEV-maker, Munro, is one further step along the road to full production of its utilitarian Series-M 4WD after the first pre-production example rolled out of the company’s East Kilbride facility.

Munro is Scotland’s only volume car company after the closure of the Rootes Group’s Linwood plant back in 1981.

The white Series-M Munro pre-production Utility is a hard top five-seater 4x4 taking 10 months to complete and will now undergo validation and assessment to iron out any problems on the lead up to full production.

Munro only unveiled a prototype Mk 1 edition at an event in Edinburgh in December 2022.

The company says the start of manufacturing “denotes a significant moment in British automotive history as the company initiates the return of light vehicle mass production to Scotland for the first time since the closure of the Linwood car plant in 1981”.

Now the first example has been produced, Munro sees the roll-out of the Series-M Utility moving it into the next of its strategic vision to expand production facilities and grow the workforce potentially bringing 300 new jobs to the region by 2027.

In achieving such a scale-up Munro will be able to increase production from 50 vehicles over the next 12 months, to 200 units per year and then to 2500 by 2027.

Following its business roadmap, Munro says it will be able to capitalise on a global market opportunity and adding impetus to its expectations, has been named as a finalist in the Fully Charged awards for Best Innovative EV Manufacturer.

In a statement, the ambitious company says it is “uniquely positioned to support customers operating in demanding sectors including agriculture, construction, defence, disaster relief and forestry”.

The Munro Series-M may aid customers in de-carbonising their 4x4 vehicle fleets, without compromising on off-road performance, practicality, and durability.

“Witnessing the first pre-production Munro Series-M Utility roll off the line is a momentous moment. Both for Munro and Scotland, as the Series-M Utility is the first light vehicle to enter mass production since the Linwood car factory closed in 1981,” said Munro head of vehicle sales, Marcus Mackle.

“While it represents an undeniably historic occasion, Munro’s focus is firmly on the future. With a healthy, two-year customer pipeline worth £68 million for the innovative and sustainability-focussed Munro Series-M Utility hard top and Series-M Truck open-bed, we can look forward with confidence.”

The Series-M range has already undergone rigorous testing in an intensive period of development that pushed the vehicle to the limit in the unforgiving Scottish terrain that inspired the company’s name.

Collected data and subjective feedback was collated during an extensive select customer test drive program.

“Our customers spoke, we listened, and we acted,” explained Munro CEO and co-founder Russell Peterson.

“Their feedback drove us to achieve even greater levels of innovation. This enabled us to create a highly versatile, sustainable, and enduring electric 4x4 to help customers transition to net zero and protect the environment.

“After listening to our customers, we introduced numerous improvements. These included an adjustable steering column with steering wheel controls, plus a raft of ergonomic enhancements.

“A full suite of safety equipment, including airbags, ABS brakes, stability, and traction control, is also now offered.”

Munro says the transition to superior body panelling ensures components can be more easily replaced further bolstering the corporate philosophy of engineering out obsolescence to create all-electric 4x4’s capable of fifty years of environmentally friendly, zero tailpipe-emission service.

From an engineering perspective, an ‘exoskeleton’ at the rear of the vehicle is mounted on the hardtop of the Utility models that enables easy mounting of equipment and is in keeping with Munro’s determination to create a versatile all-electric 4x4 with an array of options to meet a wide range of diverse customer needs.

Further, a more durable, longer-lasting LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery pack provides a faster 30-minute, 130kW rapid charging time thanks also to significantly improved thermal efficiency of the vehicle. “Waste” heat, scavenged from the drivetrain, is used to heat the cabin.

Cabin comfort in a wide range of driving environments is improved through the use of more effective sound-deadening measures. The vehicle has a full suite of safety features, including airbags, ABS brakes, stability, and traction control.

Munro says the Series-M is a ground-breaking electric-powered, four-wheel-drive workhorse that combines the rugged reliability and repairability of a full-time 4x4 mechanical drivetrain with a state-of-the-art electric powertrain, ensuring zero tailpipe emissions.

It will be available in ‘standard’ M170 170kW and ‘high-power’ M280 280kW guises and in Utility (hard top) and Truck (open bed) configurations.

Munro is holding more than 250 pre-orders for both the Utility and Truck models which it says affirms its vehicles are precisely what the market needs, particularly in sectors such as mining, construction, utilities, agriculture, and defence, where radical solutions are required to enable operators to meet their decarbonisation targets.