Innovation Ready series: Aus EVS

Newcastle Herald

The future of the automobile may be electric, but it won't come at the cost of the familiar or the classic cars that petrolheads love.

Transcript

00:00 (dramatic music)

00:02 - My name's Edwin Higginson

00:08 from Australian Electric Vehicle Specialists.

00:09 So we're a business based here in the Hunter.

00:12 We started a couple of years ago.

00:13 We really just focus purely in,

00:16 how do we help people transition to EVs?

00:18 Whether it's anything from a car to a ute to a van,

00:21 even up to a 150 ton truck.

00:23 For me, I believe it's an idea

00:28 that you can commercialize and make a success.

00:30 So anyone can have an idea,

00:32 but innovation is about turning that idea

00:34 into commercial business.

00:35 That's all my background has been in commercial fleet

00:38 and in trucking industry.

00:40 When I was talking to fleets

00:41 about various different things, asking for advice,

00:44 I think I just got about three or four in a row

00:47 that I'd asked us about,

00:48 how do we start looking towards electric vehicles,

00:51 zero emissions, trying to set zero emission targets.

00:54 That's where we started to see a unique scenario,

00:57 particularly here in the Hunter.

00:58 We've got some good trucking companies

01:00 and commercial fleets based here.

01:02 But at the same time,

01:03 we've also started to look overseas

01:04 at some of these really interesting solutions

01:06 and things that are happening.

01:07 That's where we came across these kits in America and Europe

01:11 for converting old classic cars.

01:12 So we do that as well,

01:14 because that's a lot more fun and exciting

01:16 than sitting in an office every day.

01:18 But yeah, EV solutions for commercial fleets

01:21 is really our core business.

01:22 Hunter is a fantastic location.

01:24 Bringing the family here, bringing the kids here.

01:27 We've got the hills behind us for mountain biking.

01:29 We've got the lake for going out on the lake.

01:31 But from a commercial point of view,

01:32 and this is where the Hunter businesses

01:34 really start to come into their own.

01:36 You can get up to Brisbane within 10, 11 hours,

01:39 same down to Melbourne, 11, 12 hours.

01:42 So it's all within easy reach,

01:44 really just one shift in a truck.

01:46 And there's a lot of smart people in Hunter as well.

01:47 So having us all together

01:49 and really building a community

01:52 has been really fantastic

01:53 and why it's been really great

01:54 being involved with Hunter Reef.

01:56 (upbeat music)

01:58 you

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