RBW EV Cars, a UK startup that produces electric versions of classic sports cars, said on Friday it had started a supplier business to provide its electric systems and components to other carmakers for similar high-end, limited-edition models.
CEO Peter Swain told Reuters RBW was working on limited-edition models with three major carmakers, but said he could not disclose names.
Started in 2017, RBW takes newly made bodies of two classic MG car models — the MGB and MGB GT — and turns them into electric vehicles with a range of 250km that start at around £100,000 (R2.3m), using an EV battery and powertrain designed by Continental unit Continental Engineering Services.
RBW has raised $18m (R318.3m) from investors so far.
The company recently started building EVs at a factory in Lichfield in central England and will launch production at a second factory in Danville, Virginia, in early 2025.
Swain said RBW aimed to make 300 of its own-brand EVs annually, and also produce up to 3,000 EV systems for other carmakers via its Spirit EV unit.
Rather than spend millions of dollars designing their own system, carmakers can buy RBW's, which is approved for use and in production, for between $40,000 (R707,364) and $50,000 (R884,720), Swain said.
He said RBW's rear-wheel drive systems, which house the EV battery where the engine would have sat, can be adapted for any classic car body, from a Mustang to an Aston Martin or Corvette.
Swain said the major luxury carmakers RBW is working with aim to sell model runs of a few hundred classic EVs and bring customers back to the brands.
"Major carmakers can put the classic EVs in their top showrooms to remind customers why they love that brand," Swain said.
UK classic EV startup RBW launches supplier business
Image: RBW Electric Cars
RBW EV Cars, a UK startup that produces electric versions of classic sports cars, said on Friday it had started a supplier business to provide its electric systems and components to other carmakers for similar high-end, limited-edition models.
CEO Peter Swain told Reuters RBW was working on limited-edition models with three major carmakers, but said he could not disclose names.
Started in 2017, RBW takes newly made bodies of two classic MG car models — the MGB and MGB GT — and turns them into electric vehicles with a range of 250km that start at around £100,000 (R2.3m), using an EV battery and powertrain designed by Continental unit Continental Engineering Services.
RBW has raised $18m (R318.3m) from investors so far.
The company recently started building EVs at a factory in Lichfield in central England and will launch production at a second factory in Danville, Virginia, in early 2025.
Swain said RBW aimed to make 300 of its own-brand EVs annually, and also produce up to 3,000 EV systems for other carmakers via its Spirit EV unit.
Rather than spend millions of dollars designing their own system, carmakers can buy RBW's, which is approved for use and in production, for between $40,000 (R707,364) and $50,000 (R884,720), Swain said.
He said RBW's rear-wheel drive systems, which house the EV battery where the engine would have sat, can be adapted for any classic car body, from a Mustang to an Aston Martin or Corvette.
Swain said the major luxury carmakers RBW is working with aim to sell model runs of a few hundred classic EVs and bring customers back to the brands.
"Major carmakers can put the classic EVs in their top showrooms to remind customers why they love that brand," Swain said.
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