Battery-powered Commodores

New consortium to roll-out Commodore-based electric vehicles in $26 million 'proof of concept' trial

Aussies love their large cars, but not the fuel bills. A new enterprise named EV Engineering Limited may have the answer -- build an electric-powered Commodore...

At this stage the project is still in the 'proof of concept' stage, but within 15 months of the company's announcement there'll be seven Commodore EVs on local roads, being trialled for commercial viability.

EV Engineering is a joint venture formed through the efforts of OE parts suppliers Futuris, Air International, Bosch and Continental, plus global electric vehicle resupply company Better Place Australia. The high-tech consortium also draws on support from the CSIRO, Holden and the federal government.

Some of the names behind the company are a veritable who's who of the automotive industry, starting at the top with company chairman and former Mitsubishi President, Rob McEniry. During the presentation to the press, speakers included Better Place CEO Evan Thornley and Senator Kim Carr (pictured). When asked by the Carsales Network how the return on investment for the government's funding might pan out, the Senator explained that the $3.5 million grant from the Green Car Innovation Fund was aimed at proving the concept.

"We've got to prove that the concept works," he said. "That's what this project is about. Last year, in this country, we sold 112 fully electric vehicles -- out of nearly a million sales. So clearly there's considerable room for improvement in that number.

"What we want to see is the Australian industry advance, build its capabilities, and then make sure those R&D breakthroughs are commercialised -- actually put into our general production arrangements through our Automotive Transformation Scheme, so they can have further support from the Australian government. That's the objective here. We've got to prove the concept first. That's the point of this whole project, you can't assume that it's already proven, otherwise we wouldn't have invested in it."

The Senator also revealed that Holden was currently in negotiation with the consortium for a future role, which could refer to vehicle manufacturing or further developmental support.

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