Media Buzz Opens Auto Show Doors to Australian EV Maker

Australia’s only all-electric auto maker, Blade Electric Vehicles, finally got the nod to display its product for the last three days of the Australian International Motor Show after media pressure helped overturn the company’s exclusion.

The annual event, held in Melbourne this year, ended Sunday, and Blade says the vote taken to exclude the EV maker was made by the show’s board members.

Blade Electron, based on Hyundai Getz, first domestic EV to pass federal offset crash test.

The Victoria-based firm has been producing and selling the Blade Electron since 2008 and is licensed for full-volume manufacturing. The car is based on the Hyundai Getz body.

Blade Electric says it is the first auto maker to deliver vehicle to grid-enabled EVs to Australian motorists, in which the vehicle owner can send power from his home to the car and receive power from the car into his house.

The company also says it operates the only 100% wind-powered automotive design and production plant in the world. Its Deep Green Works is located in Castlemaine, Central Victoria.

The auto maker says it currently has more than 40 Blade Electrons on the road and its design has proven the test of time, with ’08 models now passing 21,875 miles (35,000 km).

Before the show ban was lifted, Blade Electric founder and CEO Ross Blade called it unbelievable that Australia’s only dedicated EV manufacturer could be excluded from exhibiting its product.

“I am led to believe the motor show board is comprised of representatives from the major car manufacturers, and I think if this is true then their decision is both regrettable and short sighted,” he says in a statement. “While a small manufacturer, we are still held to the same high standards for safety as the big players.

“What rattles them, I think, is that as a small manufacturer we’re able to bring new technology, such as the latest in batteries and recharge capability, to market in advance of the majors.”

Company founder Ross Blade says lease companies provide terms to his customers, vehicle insurance is available through quality firms and there are outlets around Australia that service the vehicles.

“If the government, the finance, insurance and auto-service industry recognizes that Blade provides Australians with a quality automotive product, then on what commercial basis does the board of the motor show justify Blade’s exclusion?” he says.

After the turn-down by the board, Ross Blade wrote to the show organizer, Victoria Automotive Chamber of Commerce Executive Director David Purchase, seeking to negotiate a compromise, but initially received no reply.

But with local media also seeking an explanation for the ban, and Blade Electric gaining a growing volume of unexpected publicity, show organizers had a change of heart.

“We received a call…from David Purchase, who made the offer to allow Blade in for the last three days,” Ross Blade says in an email to Ward’s. “He’s been under a great deal of pressure from the local press.”

Blade Electric used the Oz show to announce the release of the Electron DGL, which has a city range of about 138 miles (220 km), making it the longest-range affordable electric car in Australia, the company says.

The EV can be recharged using the country’s standard J1772 public charge outlets in just two hours, about six hours faster than its competitors.

The new Urban Electron MkVI 4-seat, 5-door model’s price is $47,000, according to the company’s website, while the 2-seat, 3-door long-range DGL model starts at $52,000.

Ross Blade says his company was given a prominent spot in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center during its brief tenure at the show.

“The Electron vehicle range is the culmination of four years of research and development, road testing and astute technology choices,” he says.

“We have been around since 2006, and while it has been a long and bumpy road to get to where we are today, we are supremely confident in the quality of our vehicles and manufacturing processes.”