A fleet of Australian-made electric vehicles will service supermarket stores across western Sydney amid a push to revitalise motor manufacturing in Australia.
Nine electric utes developed and manufactured in the city’s west by Queensland-based ACE-EV Group will operate trolley pick-up at Woolworth’s stores.
ACE-EV Group Managing Director Gregory McGarvie said they were “a pleasure” and produced no pollution, and back the now-defunct auto industry.
“We have auto here. It’s an apex industry, it’s complex but it breeds so many other industries below it,” Mr McGarvie told Nine News on Saturday.
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The utes were first announced in May and are expected to collect up to 1000 trolleys a day from carpark collection bays and surrounding streets.
While manufactured in western Sydney, the utes are reportedly assembled overseas. Among their features is a warning light for pedestrians.
Woolworths 360 Facilities Director Jane Frewan said earlier this year the supermarket had “jumped at opportunity” for new trolley service.
![Nine new EV utes will service Woolworths stores in western Sydney. Picture: Nine](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/90eef70cbd04e26ec76f46eff3648e37d08207c8.jpg)
“We were inspired by the innovative technologies we saw from Gregory McGarvie and his team at ACE EV Group,” Ms Frewan said.
The nine utes provided by ACE-EV join a fleet of six already on the road, according to a statement by the Queensland start-up.
It comes seven years after the effective closure of local auto manufacturing with the departure of Toyota, Ford and Holden