ACE EV to sign agreement to build electric vehicles in Adelaide starting in 2020

Electric vans, utes and eventually cars will be assembled in Adelaide from next year, with start-up company ACE EV to sign an agreement with an Adelaide-based business today.

ACE EV will work with Adelaide’s Aldom Motor Body Builders to build up to 15,000 vehicles a year by 2025.

ACE EV’s first electric car manufactured in Australia was built in a warehouse south of Brisbane by a team that included a German engineer, a translator and a handful of workers.

The company’s managing director, Greg McGarvie, told the ABC the company would be signing an agreement with Aldom today.

“They are going to be assembling and building the very first light commercial electric vehicles in Australia,” Mr McGarvie said.

Up to half of the parts will be made in South Australia, with the rest to be imported mostly from China.

Mr McGarvie said the company had not been given any funding from the state or federal governments, but had chosen Adelaide because of its appetite for new technology.

“Adelaide has got a history of auto and there are a lot of supply chain opportunities that will support our manufacturing of electric vehicles,” he said.

“The third vehicle ordered from our company is by an Adelaide lady and we’ll be presenting her with a Cargo badge which will go on the third vehicle in Australia next year when she collects it.”

“Effectively, all she needs to do is drive the vehicle home, plug it into the garage and charge it up like an iPhone overnight.”

Assembling expected to start in 2020

Mr McGarvie said the company was taking orders already for the vehicles and full-scale assembly would begin in Adelaide in 2020.

“We know for sure that there’s a huge appetite for electric vehicles in Australia,” he said.

“We’re taking orders now, there’s only 100 vehicles available for 2019 and Aldom will be manufacturing the first quarter 2020, so next year.

“We’re hoping that we’ll get up to 15,000 [built] a year.

“Of that 15,000 we would expect around 80 per cent will be export.

“The beauty of electric vehicles is their running cost is very, very low.”

He said the company was pleased to be entering the market in South Australia after a four-year journey.

“We’re very pleased to be in South Australia. It’s a state that seems to be embracing new technology and a focus on the future,” he said.

Good fit for Adelaide business

Aldom will assemble vans, utes and, later, cars for right-hand-drive markets around the world.

Managing director Mark Haig said the new venture was a good fit for his business.

“Once I saw how the car went together, I knew with the experience I’ve got here — with the body builders, our electricians, our hydraulic people, our engineer people we already use in our trade every day — they’ll be able to adapt across to this quite easily and assemble the car,” Mr Haig said.

Aldom currently builds custom parts for trucks and other vehicles at its Wingfield factory.

Mr Haig said it would be looking for a new site in the same area once production ramped up.

“We’ll be looking at building the first few out of our premises here in Wingfield and then what we’ll do is we’ll move to a purpose-built factory to be able to produce the numbers once the orders come,” he said.

“They’ve already got some orders so it’s a very exciting thing for South Australia.”

Source: abc.net.au