Converting Classic Vehicles into Fully Electric Cars a Growing Trend

Over the next decade, electric vehicles (“EVs”) will become a staple on our roads as most automakers strive to electrify their lineups. The increasingly apparent side effects of climate change have necessitated the switch from internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles to zero-emission electric cars, and several countries across the world have pledged to phase out the sale of new ICE cars over the next decade or two.

Despite the high initial costs associated with purchasing electric vehicles, people have been opting for them in droves, buying an estimated 7.2 million EVs since the electric cars became mainstream. Some drivers in Australia have taken electrification a step further by converting their ICE cars to EVs instead of replacing them outright with new electric cars.

Since traditional gas-powered cars have been around for quite a while, it is not uncommon for people to form attachments to vehicles they have owned for years. For these folks, getting rid of a perfectly functional car that still has years and years of life ahead of it and has sentimental value simply isn’t feasible. Consequently, there has been a surge in the number of garages that can strip a fossil fuel vehicle of its traditional mechanisms and replace them with batteries and an electric motor, particularly in Australia. Dubbed EV conversion, or electro modding, the process is becoming increasingly popular in the country.

According to Russ Shepherd, a director at an EV conversion garage in Melbourne, interest in the process exploded almost overnight 18 months ago. The number of individuals asking the garage about electro modding increased, he says, and most of them wanted high-end conversions. James Pauly, a vehicle enthusiast who runs a business that converts EVs and drives a converted VW Beetle, says that interest in EV conversion was also on the rise. His electric beetle was drawing considerable attention at car meets, he says, and most of those who were interested tended to be car enthusiasts.

However, you should know that converting your beloved diesel car into an EV will not be cheap. Chris Jones, the national secretary of the Australian Electric Vehicle, warns that a car that has more than 150km range and can maintain highway speeds will cost you more than $30,000. Ken Macken, an Australian who converted his old Datsun Ute into an EV, spent a whopping $40,000 to buy batteries and an electric motor, and then restore and convert the old Datsun.

Essentially, converting an old car will cost you as much or even more than buying a new EV. The batteries are the most expensive component during EV conversion and since they are usually sourced from secondhand EVs, will probably have reduced capacity.

Still, Macken’s Datsun Ute, which he has now dubbed the Dasla, can go from zero to 100km/hr. in just six seconds, a feat that would have been virtually impossible in its original form. Electro modding gives fresh life to these classic models, and it can be a great way to extend the life of an older car while enjoying all the benefits of an electric car.

This technique of modding ICE vehicles could provide an interesting way for fossil-fuel car owners to switch to EVs — or they can make an outright purchase of an electric vehicle as urged by companies such as Ideanomics Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEX), which are involved in various aspects of the EV ecosystem.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Ideanomics Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/IDEX

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