THE HISUN ELITE STORY
Approximately 5 years ago The Electric Motor Vehicle Company Ltd ( EMVC ) was formed to develop and promote the use of electricity to replace petrol and diesel in the light transport fleet in NZ. Initially the focus was on electric, hybrid, and plug -in-hybrid cars.
This was soon expanded to E-Bikes which grew quickly in popularity, particularly with the advent of the various off-road trails, to the point where the company now has its own brand called Geobyke. Check out www.geobyke.nz
At the same time the company looked for a partner to develop the off-road UTV market. Consuming petrol as a fuel creates 2.3kg of CO2 per litre. As there is a worldwide mandate to reduce CO2 emissions and a well used UTV can produce 8,000 kg or more CO2 emissions per annum most customers and business plans are demanding this move away from petrol and diesel power. The E-UTV is an easy way to achieve this while also saving the cost of fuel, lower maintenance, good acceleration , very little noise, and good range. The Lithium iron phosphate battery ( LI Fe PO4 ) is the engine and will last 10 years or more of usable life and very little maintenance.
EMVC searched the market and found a committed E-UTV brand called Hisun based in China. Started in 1988 it now employs 1700 staff and manufactures a wide range of ATVs and UTVs with the majority of parts manufacture done in house. It also has a large operation in Texas and is well established in Europe. EMVC agreed to take on the Southland distribution rights but only for the electric UTV model range.
As a result of the covid lockdowns the NZ owner decided to move back to China and focus on that end of the supply chain. A decision was also made to no longer offer the petrol range in NZ.
As a result of this change EMVC started to buy the E-UTV model range direct from the Chinese factory in knockdown form in 40ft high cube containers shipped directly to Bluff Port and on into their own plant for final assembly. This change has minimized all costs and also means EMVC can make alterations to the vehicle to better suit NZ conditions. This revised form of the vehicle is now marketed as HISUN ELITE.
A major part of the transition was to develop their own LiFe Po4 modular battery built in Invercargill using the best cells and battery management system sourced internationally and able to be slid in and out of the vehicle quickly. This overcomes many issues in trying to ship batteries internationally ,and diagnose faults. This can also allow EMVC to build up a battery swap market, and add batteries to increase range if required. The batteries could also be leased to lower capital costs to clients and the same batteries could also be used to store solar and wind power.
EMVC is setting up a network of service agents throughout NZ so that E-UTVs assembled to client specifications can be shipped via curtain sider truck to the agents , checked, and then delivered to the client with training, advice and backup services.