As late as October last year, Russ Shepherd thought the idea of making money from converting classics and old rustbuckets into electric cars was so far-fetched he almost cut it from the business model.
With more and more phone calls from do-it-yourselfers needing advice, they decided to post online about Mr Shepherd's first conversion, a 2001 Audi he completed in 2015 when he was working as an IT project manager."And there’s just been massive, massive interest. It’s taken us by surprise to be honest," business development manager Emma Sutcliffe said.
"People love the look of classics, but they're often terrible to drive and not particularly safe. So it's not just about putting in a new motor, it's re-purposing, up-cycling, giving it a new lease on life – fundamentally, it's making them daily drivable." Much of that price is down to a unique challenge he set EVolution Australia: instead of the standard 300 kilometre range, Mr Bausor, a keen off-roader, wants 500 kilometres.
When he moves back to Melbourne early next year, Mr Bausor hopes to rent it to other enthusiasts on the weekends he is not using it for himself.
My husband is having his 1974 Alfa Romeo converted to electric by them. They said 4 months. That was a year & 3 months ago, & he still doesn’t have it back. Comms is horrible w them, & so many excuses as to why it isn’t done. Would never work w them again.