Gemtek Group’s BMW i3 Targa rally entry.
Perth’s Gemtek Group has opened Western Australia’s first dedicated electric vehicle dealership – Perth Electric Vehicle Hire & Sales Co (PEVHS).
The dealership allows fleet and private customers to buy electric cars and commercial vehicles across a range of brands and models, as well as leasing and hiring them.
Gemtek has been installing EV charging stations in WA for three years and says PEVHS sees electric drivetrains as transport’s future.
“Our core business is electric vehicle hire and sales, as well as the supporting infrastructure. We are a member of the Electric Vehicle Council,” a PEVHS founder Florian Popp told The West Australian.
“The move into the electric vehicle space that we’ve been active with in the last five years has come from the building perspective and looking at the management of electricity at a building level. It’s at a physical level.”
That includes micro-grids, battery-technology and off-grid charging to complex electrical projects for commercial buildings, apartments and public infrastructure.
Popp says PEVHS is also involved in research to help establish industry standards. “There is still a vacuum of data and policy at many levels. It’s things like regulations, to strata billing, to the greenfield industry of electric vehicles.
“Electric vehicles have different impacts on residential properties, particularly clusters of strata titles, as well as commercial and fleet applications, and public infrastructure.
The Electrikhana EV expo is on March 9.
“It’s even basics like driver safety, emergency response, and servicing for electric cars. We have to develop capacity.”
Popp says WA is helping lead the way with the establishment of its first “Electric Highway” over 315km from Perth to Augusta.
The project involving the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia and the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) has 12 charging stations.
“We’ve developed quite a lot of technology for our off-grid activity with our Targa and motorsport activities,” Popp says. “We participated in our first Targa event in 2013 in a BMW i3. That helps us with prototyping of remote charging.”
Popp says PEVHS sees an opportunity with EV rentals and sales.
“Our purpose is to make electric cars available across brands. There is a lot of learning and education that has to happen. And not just passenger cars, we’re also talking about light commercial, buses and trucks.”
Popp says PEVHS is committed to the environment and building a sustainable transport future.
Meanwhile, Perth hosts AEVA’s Electrikhana EV expo and test drive day on March 9.
It’s at the Canning River Eco Education Centre, 10am-3pm.
