Melbourne company to roll out “world’s toughest” off-road EV

A Melbourne-based manufacturer of commercial utility vehicles, Tomcar Australia, is set to begin producing its first all-electric off-road vehicle, after two of years testing and developing a prototype.

The company said on Monday that full-scale production of its zero emission Tomcar LV1 – “the world’s toughest EV” – would begin in November 2016 at the Tomcar manufacturing facility in Melbourne, with customer deliveries commencing February 2017.

Designed and built in Australia in partnership with electric vehicle developers Energetique, the Tomcar LV1 prototype is currently being tested in the various “harsh” environments throughout Australia, according to the company.

The EV, which is built using more than 60 per cent Australian-made componentry, is particularly targeting the resources industry, as zero-emissions Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) mobility solution for mines – with low running costs.

But Tomcar says the arrival of the LV1 also amounts to a “game changer” for Australia’s automotive industry, as an Australian designed and made all-electric offering with potential to be shipped around the world.

“We have been working with Energetique on this project for over a year, keeping it secret while creating the world’s toughest EV – to be built right here in Australia,” said Tomcar Australia’s co-founder and CEO, David Brim.

“The entire vehicle is being developed here, including the unique proprietary software and our incredible powertrain system design,” Brim said.

Tomcar also claims to the first Original Equipment auto Manufacturer (OEM) to set up operations in Australia in more than 30 years.

But in the automotive sector, similar claims have been made by Melbourne-based electric bus makers AVASS, and Queensland company Bustech (part of Transit Australia Group) which launched an electric bus in 2015 that was designed, engineered and manufactured at its plant in Burleigh Heads.

E-motor Type: Brushless PM for low torque applications – max rpm – 8500 rpm

Peak / Continuous Power: 100 kW (peak), 60 kW (Continuous)

Peak / Continuous Torque: 300 Nm (Peak), 150 Nm (Continuous)

Gearing reduction including differential ratio: around 9:1 overall

Battery output voltage and capacity: A selection of 12-20 kWh battery storage modules.

Operating voltage: 270-425 VDC