TrueGreen, a clean technology firm that counts Nexport Mobility Group and Gemilang Buses amongst its portfolio, says it has secured $110 million in new funding for an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in NSW.
The funding from Tor Investment, an asset manager that focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, will go towards existing projects underway by Nexport, including a $700 million large-scale electric vehicle manufacturing hub planned for a 94-hectare site at Moss Vale in NSW’s Southern Highlands.
Nexport also has plans to support the NSW state government’s transition to 100% electric buses, a plan unveiled in October 2020 that will see it ditch 8,000 diesel and LPG buses in favour of all-electric.
“To have secured this funding is a major coup for Nexport,” said Nexport CEO Luke Todd in a statement.
“It exceeded the total amount we were initially seeking and comes from a major international fund, highlighting the broad reach and potential applicability of our vehicles.
“The group now has the necessary financial flexibility to progress a number of opportunities and bring advanced manufacturing back to Australia and transform EV adoption from aspirational to mainstream,” he said.
The release from TrueGreen also hinted at a possible IPO in 2022, saying the new funding puts the group in a solid financial position and highlighting increasing support for electric vehicles from state governments and organisations moving towards net-zero goals.
The Moss Vale manufacturing hub will see Nexport collaborate with Warren-Buffet backed BYD. Nexport already has advanced plans to import BYD electric vehicles to Australia via direct-to-consumer subsidiary EVDirect.
With a $35,000 electric T3 commercial van now available for order, Nexport says it has a people mover, an SUV, an electric hatch also priced around $35,000, as well as a premium next-gen Han electric sedan on the way.
The Australian Financial Review also reports that Nexport has its eyes on a joint charging facility with Brisbane’s Tritium, a leading DC fast charger provider backed by the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund which has a significant global footprint with units deployed to major charging networks.
BYD makes its own battery, called the Blade, and based on internal testing says it is the safest electric vehicle battery on the market. Todd told AFR a joint charging facility with Tritium would allow Nexport to test Blade batteries.
In comments to the AFR on Wednesday, Todd also flagged the upcoming Brisbane Olympics, which he thinks will also achieve a zero-emissions milestone for the sporting organisation.
“We’re very excited about the recent Olympics news because we believe a key part of Brisbane and the Olympics is hopefully going to be the first zero-emission Olympics,” he said.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.