An Orange company has bagged a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In what GB Auto believes to be the most valuable deal for electric vehicles in the Australasian region to date, it has entered an agreement with Tembo e-LV B.V and VivoPower PLC that will see it deliver emissions-free utes mainly for use on mining sites.
Under the seven-year deal, GB Auto has committed to ordering at least 500 Tembo 4 x 4 e-LV electric conversion kits in year one and 2,000 kits in the first four years.
The company believes these orders will generate about US$250 million in revenue over the initial 4-year span.
General manager of GB Auto in Orange, Bill Dunlop, said Orange will be the site used to convert the Land Cruisers and Hiluxes initially, with other facilities expected to take on some of the load down the line.
"The deal we have signed is for a larger capacity battery than the current offering," he said.
"Tembo was the company that created the electric driveline kit and we are the distributor for Australia and New Zealand.
"We purchase the kits from Tembo, we import them into Australia and we do the vehicle conversions from diesel to electric and then we'll deliver that to a customer."
CEO and founder of GB Auto, Graeme Bensley, said: "We are excited to partner with VivoPower as its Tembo electric vehicles are ideally suited to the needs of our customers in the mining sector.
"We are already witnessing strong demand for these vehicles, and this agreement bolsters our ability to play a prominent role in the overall drive to improve the sustainability of our economy."
The 72 kilowatt-hour battery kit that GB Auto will be installing, will allow vehicles to travel about 200km without needing to charge, compared with about 70-80km before.
"Battery technology is progressing extremely quickly, meaning the vehicles are becoming viable alternatives for many industries," Mr Dunlop added.
The company has already deployed pilot vehicles into some mines.
Should Tembo offer any additional products for sale during the seven-year agreement term, GB Auto will also have a first right of refusal to its distribution rights in Australia.
The first vehicle deliveries are scheduled for mid-2021.
HAVE YOUR SAY
- Send us a letter to the editor using the form below