Do-It-Yourself Electric Vehicles

, “they make great spare parts!” Graeme knows a lot about cars, both fossil fueled cars and EV. He was the chairman of Australian Electric Vehicles Association Queensland for 7 years. Wandering around his workshop, I see a multitude of cars in various stages of retrofit. There is a drag racing Suzuki Swift with a Tesla powertrain and battery, a Volkswagen Kombi up on the hoist, and Graeme’s own 2003 General Motor’s Cruze, which he drives every day.

, and Graeme is converting many of the ones in Brisbane over to new batteries to double their range. Even with 11 employees, he has a two-year waiting list for conversions. Many of his current employees are university students working part time, getting a taste of the future that you can’t find in a textbook or a lecture hall.

I asked him if there was a future in converting older cars compared with buying the new, cheaper Chinese models coming onto the Australia market. His response was quite thoughtful: “If a BYD Atto 3 gets ‘T’ boned, it will provide cheaper EV parts to the market, so conversions will become cheaper.” Good point!

At the moment, a basic kit to convert a small petrol car costs about AUD$12,000 . Graeme was at pains to point out that this was indeed basic — low range, low speed. Over the past ten years, the price of the kits has dropped 40%. At the other end of the scale, Graeme recently answered a request from the Queensland Governor’s Office for a quote on electrifying the governor’s ceremonial 1972 Rolls Royce Phantom.

Oz-DIY EVs has come a long way from the hobby that Graeme started in 2007. He watched what others did and then started working on converting 3 cars — “one for me, one for the wife, and one for a friend.” Graeme’s business was importing spare parts for Suzukis, so, naturally, those first three cars were 1990 Suzuki Swifts. He proudly points out that they are still being driven.

Energy Energy Latest News, Energy Energy Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Optiwatt Launches New “Save the Planet” Tool And Announces $4.3M In Seed FundingOptiwatt is a free electric vehicle (EV) charge management app that automatically schedules electric vehicle charging when electricity rates are cheapest, saving users an average of $388 per year. interesting optiwatt
Source: cleantechnica - 🏆 565. / 51 Read more »

Would You Pay $14k For An Electric R129 Mercedes SL With 'Over' 50 Miles Of Range? | CarscoopsWould You Pay $14k For An Electric R129 Mercedes SL With 'Over' 50 Miles Of Range? | Carscoops carscoops
Source: Carscoop - 🏆 306. / 63 Read more »

Electric vehicles are popular, but charging them remains a challengeOne expert told CBS News that improvements in electric vehicle technology coupled with sticker shock at the pump have led the U.S. to 'an extraordinary moment in time' for electric vehicle adoption. Horses 'wink' with their vaginas when they are horny. Maybe somebody should invest billions into that. Why buy an electrical car if charging it is a problem? I've being thinking about a skateboard and my works leaf blower strapped to it.
Source: CBSNews - 🏆 87. / 68 Read more »

16 states that want to electrify USPS fleet file lawsuitsGroups that want the U.S. Postal Service to buy more electric delivery vehicles are suing to halt purchases of thousands of gas-powered trucks as the agency modernizes its mail delivery fleet.
Source: wjxt4 - 🏆 246. / 63 Read more »

16 states that want to electrify USPS fleet file lawsuitsCalifornia and 15 other states want the U.S. Postal Service to buy electric-powered delivery vehicles.
Source: ksatnews - 🏆 442. / 53 Read more »