Electrified tow vehicles you can buy now for caravan trips

Fuel costs have always been a major expense for caravanners, even before pump prices recently hit the roof.

Depending on your rig and style of camping, fuel can make up a third or more of daily costs during a big lap of Australia towing a caravan, so rising fuel prices can really cut into the budgets of many RV travellers.

The easiest way to cut costs (short of cancelling the trip!) is to reduce the number of kilometres travelled each week, or cut other travel expenses like caravan park fees to stay out longer on the road.

You can also adopt fuel-saving measures, like using a roof-mounted wind deflector on the tow vehicle; keeping tyre pressures up; reducing speed, and just driving smarter (anticipating hills, limiting use of cruise control, etc).

Another option is to focus on the weight of your 'van, or just choose a much smaller towable RV that won't chew up the fuel dollars quite as quickly.

Or you can choose a more fuel-efficient 'electrified' tow vehicle...

Currently, there are a limited number of caravan-friendly 'green' tow vehicle options available in Australia; insofar as offering a decent (2000-2500kg-plus) towing capacity, with either plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or full battery powered (BEV) powertrain.

So you'll need to crunch the numbers on any of the vehicles we've listed below, especially when it comes to working out if they meet your travel needs when it comes to any weight ratings' limitations, 'fuel' range concerns (typically slash the official figure by around 40-50 per cent when towing) and charging options available en-route.

If you've been sniffing diesel fumes while hitching up all your caravanning life, it might be worth checking out this real world test of three hybrid utes from the Carsales team, that addresses some of the issues around 'plug-in' touring and caravan towing...

BYD Shark 6 Performance: The Shark 6 combines a 135kW/260Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with dual electric motors, plus a 29.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The dual-cab ute can be driven up to 100km on electricity alone, although expect much less with a (maxiumum) 2500kg caravan and 790kg payload on board. Full review here.

Denza B5 Leopard: This large off-roader combines a 135kW 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with dual electric motors plus a 31.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The three tonne SUV can be driven up to 100km on electricity alone. Once again, this will drop significantly if you plan to make the most of its 3000kg (braked) towing and 490kg payload. Full review here.

GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV:  GWM's electrified dual-cab ute can tow a caravan up to 3500kg and has a payload of up to 685kg. It's powered by a 180kW/380Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, supplemented by a single 120kW/400Nm e-motor. Together with its 37.1kWh lithium battery packs, it can deliver an EV mode range of up 115km (unladen). Full review here.

Ford Ranger PHEV: The electrified Ranger ute gets a 138kW/411Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, together with a single 75kW e-motor and 11.8kWh lithium-ion battery. It's a decent caravan hauler with 3500kg towing capacity and up to 934kg payload. Full review here.

GWM Tank 500 PHEV: GWM's five-seat wagon is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, together with a 120kW electric motor and 37.1kWh lithium ion battery, for a combined 300kW/750Nm and maximum fuel range of almost 1000km (120km of pure electric driving), plus a handy claimed fuel consumption of 2.1L/100km – or 8.4L/100km with a drained battery. It can tow a caravan weighing up to 3000kg and has a 610kg payload. Full review here.

Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid: The big luxury Euro wagon is available with 3.0-litre, six-cylinder or 4.0-litre V8 twin turbo petrol engines. Paired with a 130kW electric motor and 25.9 kWh lithium ion battery, electric driving range is just 86km (unladen). It's also rated to tow 3500kg and offers a 700kg payload, depending on the variant. Full review here.

Kia EV9: Premium versions of Kia's battery powered seven-seat SUV can tow a caravan weighing up to 2500kg while delivering a vehicle payload of around 600kg. It does this in the Kia EV9 GT-Line variant (full review here.) with a 99.8kWh battery feeding a dual-motor powertrain that provides drive to all four wheels. Maximum outputs are 283kW and 700Nm, with a claimed combined energy consumption of 22.8kWh/100km and a 505km range (WLTP figures).

Polestar 3: This premium Chinese SUV can tow up to 2200kg in dual-motor configuration (1500kg with single motor), and outputs 360kW/840Nm (standard) and 380kW/910Nm with the Performance Pack. They share the same 111kWh battery and have claimed WLTP ranges of up to 631km and 561km respectively. Full review here.

BMW iX: The BMW iX xDrive45 M Sport AWD wagon can tow up to 2500kg, although 100kg is the maximum weight allowed on the towball so that's a limiting factor when it comes to caravanning. It gets a 94.8kW/h lithium-ion battery pack, and twin motors for a 300kW/700Nm output, and up to 602km (WLTP) range. Full review here.

Tesla Model Y: Tesla's Model Y can tow up to 1588kg across all four variants, including rear drive and AWD platforms. The Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive has single motor outputs of 194kW and 340Nm, with a 60kWh battery and WLTP range of 455km.

The Model Y can also take advantage of the Tesla charging network, making it far easier to charge on a longer trip. Full review here.

Audi Q6 e-tron: This high-priced bahn-stormer doubles as a decent tow vehicle with a maximum 540kg payload and 2400kg towing capacity. In dual-motor, all-wheel drive configuration and with a 100kWh lithium-ion battery pack, it can cover up to 625km (WLTP) on a single charge, so perhaps 250-300 clicks might be achievable with a two tonne caravan in tow... More details here.

Zeekr7X: All three variants of the Zeekr7X can tow a caravan weighing up to 2000kg, with an accompanying payload maxxing out at around 605kg. It gets either a 75kWh or 100kWh battery depending on the variant, with the 7X Long Range RWD delivering a muscular 310kW/440Nm from its single electric motor, and boasting a claimed range of 615km (WLTP) with the bigger battery, although that's without a mid-size caravan behind, of course. Full review here.

Hyundai IONIQ 9: The big Korean SUV can tow a caravan loaded up to 2500kg, although maximum towball load is just 125kg, and vehicle payload maxes out at 546 kg. Output is a strong 314kW/700Nm courtesy of two electric motors and a 110.3kWh lithium-ion battery pack that delivers a range (when not towing a house-on-wheels up the freeway) of up to 600km (WLTP). Full review here.

Volvo EX90: This striking family seven-seat hauler gets a big 111kWh battery, with the EX90 Plus Twin Motor variant with dual motors pumping out 300kW and 700Nm. Volvo says the EX90 can tow up to 2200kg, and that it can travel up to 570km on a single charge (when unladen). More details here.

Related: Everything you need to know about EV campervans and battery-powered motorhomes