With the rise of the electric car comes a high demand for more electric trucks. After all, pickup trucks outsold cars in 2020 according to Kelley Blue Book, what’s to say electric trucks won’t outsell electric cars. And with affordable models like the Ford F-150 Lightning on the way, many will flock to them. But Chinese electric car company Kandi is entering the segment too, debuting the Kandi K32, which won’t be street legal.

The Kandi K32 electric truck is more like a UTV than a pickup truck

Before diving into this odd and obscure electric truck, it’s best to look at the truck as more of a UTV than a fully-fledged pickup truck. That’s because the truck won’t be street legal, which is similar to UTVs and ATVs. And the purpose of this electric truck would be similar to other four-wheelers as well. It’s meant to be a tool that’ll get you around a farm, where the terrain is rough and the roads are non-existent.

And in terms of being an offroad truck, the Kandi K32 may not be terrible. For starters, it has fairly high-looking ground clearance, though there isn’t an exact number available. But the car rides tall, almost to a fault, towering at 82 inches high (or 6 ft 10 inches). And it’s got the utility, with AWD and a truck bed big enough for a dirt bike.

Unfortunately, Kandi’s website doesn’t share any other notable utility stats to share. No towing capacity, maximum payload, or specifics about the truck’s ground clearance. In fact, the specs that are shared about this electric truck leave a little to be desired.

The specs of the Kandi K32 electric truck are a bit underwhelming

Let’s start with the most disappointing of the Kandi K32’s stats: the power. The electric motor jammed in this electric truck makes 21 kW of power, which translates to about 28 horsepower. This happens to be less horsepower than the two other compact electric cars Kandi sells, which is a bit pathetic. Though to play devil’s advocate, you don’t need a lot of horsepower for an offroad vehicle, you need torque.

Unfortunately, Kandi doesn’t list the torque figures for this electric truck. But they do claim the 4,000 lb truck can reach a top speed of 65 mph, even with such little horsepower.

Now, there are two different versions of the Kandi K32 available, a standard and long-range version. It’s the same naming convention Tesla uses for their electric cars, the only difference here is that the “long-range” of the Kandi K32 isn’t long at all. At it’s best, this electric truck can go 150 miles per charge. Meanwhile, the standard battery can only go 60 miles per charge.

But the big issue is the cost. For the standard model, it’ll cost you $27,699, and for the long-range, a whopping $34,499. All for an offroad truck that has no power, low range, and isn’t street-legal. In what universe would it make sense to buy this electric truck?

Is there any reason someone would buy the Kandi K32?

While I don’t like to shoot down any vehicle, especially ones I haven’t driven, it’s hard to figure out how it’d make sense to buy an electric truck you can’t drive on public roads. Especially one that costs as much as a cheaper electric car. If you’re looking for an electric car with a low range and a high price tag, look no further than the Mazda MX-30 EV, which you can drive on public roads.

Provided, 60 miles of range should be plenty for anyone who owns a farm, ranch, or pasture, and just needs a utility vehicle. But again, it seems like there ought to be better options that cost less and provide more. Until we know just how the Kandi K32 performs offroad against the competition, it’s hard to justify buying one. But who knows, maybe this electric truck is a total sleeper, and will surprise everyone once we see it in action.