Australia: Jaunt Motors, an Australian startup that upgrades vintage Land Rovers with new technology will merge with a British company Zero EV to form one of the largest electric vehicle conversion businesses in the world.
Fellten, an automobile that will operate in Australia, the UK, and North America, will be produced by the Australian – UK partnership.
Dave Budge, a co-founder of Jaunt Motors, stated that the merger is expected to assist mechanics and auto owners in making the conversion to electric motors in addition to converting more antique cars.
We’re scaling up to deliver hundreds of units next year and beyond and the biggest thing is awareness. Most people don’t know that this is even possible.
Chris Hazell
The co-founder of Zero EV, Chris Hazell, mentioned the new company would provide mechanics and enthusiasts “with the technology, tools and training to be a part of the growing global demand for electrification. It’s the culmination of years of work from two teams working on either side of the world, coming together with the shared ambition of shaping the future of electric vehicles.”
Up until September, the percentage of new cars sold in Australia that were electric vehicles was just 3.39 percent. To increase that percentage, the new company will convert current petrol cars, such as Porsche 911s, Mini Coopers, Land Rovers, and Land Rover Defenders, into electric ones.
According to Budge, the service is in high demand in Australia, with reservations “extending well into 2024,” and the majority of its clients are Land Rover enthusiasts who want to give their cars a fresh coat of paint.
“I was looking around the workshop yesterday and we’ve got seven cars in build and none of those cars is going to someone who has a classic car collection,” the Jaunt Motor co-founder remarked.
Restoring and electrifying a Land Rover typically costs $125,000 and is made simpler because it is shaped like a “garden shed on wheels.”
Using Apple iPads and iPhones and programs like Shapr3D and Procreate, Budge and Marteen Burger, who founded the business together in 2018, had come up with inventive ways to enhance the vehicles.
“From day one, I was sketching this stuff on an iPad,” Budge said while adding that, “Now we have iPhones throughout the workshop. With [augmented reality], the design and engineering team models components. Squeezing everything in is the hardest job.”
The team will demonstrate some of their tips for Apple users while also letting them customize a 3D Land Rover model, at a free workshop in Sydney.