Maxus is a brand familiar to the UK light-commercial vehicle sector, quite possibly because the name is much older than the company.
British manufacturer LDV was building vans in Birmingham throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and using the model name Maxus on them. The company collapsed in 2008, was bought by the Chinese and relaunched did Maxus the model become Maxus the brand.
Since its relaunch, Maxus has been an industry leader in the shift from fossil fuels to electrification. Already, more than a third of its annual sales are EVs, positioning the brand as a leader and rapidly growing player in the electric LCV market.
So who or what is Maxus?
Maxus is one of several brands owned by Chinese automotive giant SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) – MG is another major SAIC brand in the UK.
The brand’s heritage, however, is all British, going back many years into the era of the much-maligned British Leyland. BL’s commercial vehicle side Leyland Trucks merged with Dutch maker DAF in 1987 to become Leyland DAF. This was rebranded as LDV in 1994, with the company building vans in Birmingham – including a model range called Maxus. But LDV ran into difficulties and production ended in 2008, after which the rights to the firm were bought by SAIC.
The first Chinese-built LDV Maxus vans appeared in 2011, and from 2016 were relaunched in the UK, distributed by the Dublin-based Harris Group. In 2020, the LDV part of the name was dropped altogether in the UK (it was already simply Maxus elsewhere), and the British operation was rebranded Maxus UK.
When did Maxus launch in the UK?
If you consider the company’s history then it’s been here since the dawn of motoring – the first Leyland Motors product was a steam van launched at the end of the 19th century alongside its existing range of steam lawnmowers!
UK sales have been maintained almost continuously ever since through the various rebrandings and takeovers of the business, the most recent relaunches being to LDV and finally Maxus in 2020.
What models does Maxus have and what else is coming?
The Maxus commercial range currently consists of three panel vans (basically small, medium and large) and a pick-up truck. Only the largest and oldest of the current line-up, the Deliver 9, is available with a diesel powertrain, all the other vehicles being EVs. The Deliver 9 offers up to 13m3 of cargo space, with a choice of three lengths and four roof heights.
The electric eDeliver 9 version offers rather fewer options, coming only with 11m3 of cargo space and a battery range of up to 219 miles. It was joined in 2020 by the first of the Maxus all-electric range, the compact 945kg payload eDeliver 3, which has a range of up to 213 miles.
At the 2022 Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, Maxus unveiled the T90EV, the brand’s first pick-up truck. A right-hand drive version of a model already sold in China, it again has an electric two-wheel-drive powertrain and a range of close to 200 miles. It went on sale in early 2023, alongside the brand’s first foray into the passenger car market, the high-specification MIFA 9 people-carrier.  Â
The most recent addition to the line-up, launched at the 2023 Commercial Vehicle Show, is a mid-sized van neatly filling the gap between the eDeliver 3 and 9. The Ford Transit Custom-sized eDeliver 7 will be sold in three cargo bay sizes with up to 8.7m3 of space, and a range of up to 340 miles. And like all LCVs, the three van sizes are available in a range of body configurations including chassis cabs.
More is to come, with Maxus indicating that at least three new EVs are on the way over the next two years, though giving no clue as to what form they will take.
Where can I try a Maxus van?
A commercial vehicle operator wanting to try a Maxus won’t have too far to travel – as of mid-2023, the brand has more than 60 outlets across the UK and is steadily adding more.
What’s particularly significant about this company?
Maxus had been growing at a remarkable rate in the UK, particularly considering the current difficult trading environment. At the start of 2021, the brand opened a new UK headquarters in Warrington – less than two years later it had outgrown it and moved into a new and four times larger premises in Liverpool.
However, this year that growth has stagnated. After registrations grew by 52% in 2022 over the previous year, this has slowed to about 4% growth in 2023 (as of September). When you consider that the overall LCV market has grown by
What makes Maxus different to the rest?
One aspect that separates Maxus from the clutch of other Chinese brands now targeting British buyers is that its UK operation is owned by a European company focused on a very specialist portfolio of vehicles.
The Dublin-based Harris Group distributes six badges, all commercial vehicles but mostly trucks and coaches. Maxus is the group’s only van maker.
Some Chinese manufacturers such as MG have chosen to set up their own operations, while others such as Nio and GWM Ora have signed up with major dealer groups where the new models have to fight for recognition alongside established mainstream manufacturers.
Summary
While some UK commercial vehicle operators might hesitate to consider buying from the rapidly expanding Asian manufacturers, Maxus has already established a reputation that’s hard to ignore. The brand’s UK history goes back a long way while its current products and its focus on electric vehicles, winning the brand a number of awards, has struck a chord with major LCV users, with household names such as DPD placing orders. Â
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