Australia Gets Its Own Electric Car Company.

The Aussie Tesla: Start-up plans to build electric cars in Australia

There are currently no Australian-made battery-powered car makers manufacturing in Australia, but ACE Electric Vehicles plans to change that. The company, which started as GetGreen - an energy management company - before evolving into solar farm development and branching out into electric cars, says it wants to bring manufacturing back to Australia, specifically regional Queensland.

From article, (There are currently no Australian-made battery-powered car makers manufacturing in Australia, but ACE Electric Vehicles plans to change that.

The company, which started as GetGreen – an energy management company – before evolving into solar farm development and branching out into electric cars, says it wants to bring manufacturing back to Australia, specifically regional Queensland.

"We are proud to be launching our first range of Australian electric vehicles," ACE Electric Vehicles managing director Greg McGarvie said.

"This is now a realistic proposition since our agreements on a new patented manufacturing process for electric vehicles."

The group is targeting the release of its first electric car by the third quarter of this year, with two more vehicles scheduled to be released in 2019.

There are currently two models, a ute, dubbed the Yewt, and a cargo van. Prices will be below $40,000.

Mr McGarvie said the vehicles had been built predominately for urban environments, "they have been designed for jobs like small trades or physiology labs, where they are going back and forth".

The vehicles have a total range of 350 kilometres using a 40 kilowatt hour battery – the Tesla Model 3 has a 50 kilowatt hour battery – although 99 per cent of trial trips have been under 110 kilometres.

While the vehicles’ carbon fibre components are being built in China, they are assembled in Australia.

"They are shipped to Australia and put together like Ikea," he said.

Mr McGarvie said once demand increases all manufacturing will shift to Australia.

"Once we hit around 10,000 units a year we can shift all building and manufacturing to Australia."

With the potential of creating a renewed, albeit smaller, Australian automotive manufacturing industry, many are asking why Australia remains reluctant to take up electric vehicles at the same pace as Europe, the US or China.

"The key reason for poor uptake is the cost of electric vehicles, range anxiety – the cars running out of charge – and poor access to charging stations and servicing facilities, as well as a lack of a range of models," Mr McGarvie said.)

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