SEA Electric’s Tony Fairweather, left, and Daniel Andrews.
The first electric vehicles are expected to come from a new SEA Electric factory in Morwell in about a year under a deal announced between the company and the Victorian Government.
Premier Daniel Andrews says the October 30 announcement ensures the Latrobe Valley will be “the national capital for electric vehicles”.
A 20,000 square metre factory site has yet to be determined and it could produce about 2400 mainly van and minibus EVs annually, with the possibility of increased production later.
SEA Electric already has a factory in Dandenong.
The Latrobe factory is expected to employ about 500 people, which could include some of the 750 who lost jobs when the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant closed last year.
The five-year deal between the Andrews government and SEA Electric will proceed no matter the result of the November 24 state election.
Government funding for the Latrobe project has been kept under wraps.
The Andrews government announced its intentions in 2016 to ensure Victoria becomes an “electric vehicle powerhouse”, setting aside $20 million in New Energy Jobs Fund grants.
