Australian EV conversion company Jaunt Motors is merging with UK electric vehicle components company Zero EV to create a new company, Fellten Motors, which will focus on converting classic cars to electric.
Electric vehicle conversions are often seen as a useful solution to making widespread internal combustion engine vehicles more environmentally friendly. It’s a good idea, utilising the drivetrain and chassis of the car, while swapping out the engine, fuel tank and other petrol-dependent parts, replacing them with batteries and electric motors.
The problem is that this is very expensive. A mechanic that specialises in EV conversions told Gizmodo Australia back in February that the cumulative cost, including parts and labour, would be over $70,000.
But electric vehicle conversions are very popular in one specific car niche: classic cars. This has been the crux of Melbourne-based Jaunt’s business and is key to its merger with Zero EV. Brought to our attention by The Guardian, the two companies as Fellten Motors will be focusing heavily on classic car conversions.
“We’ve been working closely with the Zero EV team for over a year now to pool together all of our experience in engineering, design, quality assurance, to deliver some amazing products,” said Dave Budge, the CEO of Jaunt Motors, in the video above. He’s now the head of design at Fellten.
Budge says that Fellten (the Welsh word for ‘lightning’) is a “design, development and manufacturing company for bolting electric vehicle kits”.
“Working closely with Jaunt means that we now have facilities in Australia, UK and very soon in the U.S.. We’re bringing our production facilities online very soon,” added Chris Hazel, the co-founder of ZEO and the CEO of Felten.
“That means your company can buy bolt-in systems to allow your business to move into the 21st century.”
Jaunt Motors will now be known as Fellten Australia, and as the company establishes itself across the continents, it’s set to become one of the world’s largest electric vehicle conversion companies. While they’ll continue developing pre-made conversion kits, Fellten will also provide electric vehicle conversion training.
But do keep in mind that Fellten is focusing on classic cars, not just any car. So far, Fellten has developed systems for Porsche 911s, classic Minis and Land Rover Defenders, three widely popular classic car models. The company says that more kits are on the way for other models.
“Every vehicle on the road will need to be electric by 2050 for us to achieve net zero emissions and classic car owners will want their vehicle to be electric much sooner,” added Budge.
“With the support of the global Fellten engineering team, proprietary EV technology and strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers, Fellten provides specialist and luxury vehicle customers with complete electrification support, from design to technology development to delivery.”
The company is being officially unveiled at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, kicking off today. The U.S. facility is expected to launch in early 2023, while systems, production and training will expand in Australia and UK.