June 1 is special at Premcar. The coming years will be even more so.
It’s been a big week.
We spent most of it with the national media and car company executives.
We presented pre-production vehicles, outlined future plans (we’ll reveal more soon) and assessed future-model new-car projects.
One of our engineering teams started testing the first prototype they’ve built for a US-market model. (More later this year.)
Another made a big breakthrough on an EV program.
But for the two of us, Thursday was a special day.
It marked 11 years since we took the reins at Premcar.
A quick recap:
Premcar is the company behind various performance-oriented new-car models in Australia. These have included the Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) range back when the Blue Oval made Falcon sedans and Territory SUVs in Australia.
Detroit’s decision to end its Australian manufacturing operations marked the end of an era.
It also sparked a new opportunity, so we seized it.
Starting in 1996, and having engineered and built some 200,000 new vehicles and more than 55,000 engines, grabbing the once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy the company we today call Premcar was more than a turning point. It was a chance to keep Australia’s automaker flame burning.
Where the 3 words in Premcar’s tagline originate:
Leaving behind fast Falcons and supercharged V8 engines, we applied our collective skillset – new-vehicle engineering and development – to different brands in Australia and overseas. We still do.
Along the way it has opened doors to the defence and aerospace industries.
Other global carmakers then called, asking to lean on our other skillset: new-vehicle enhancement. We want more of these Australian customers they asked, pointing to different buyers. How do we change our existing model line-up to attract them?
Then the electric vehicle revolution shifted up a gear.
Tasked with developing an all-new EV platform for an international brand, the future became abundantly clear.
That was some years ago.
It quickly became evident the EV revolution wasn’t all about new cars; there was the small matter of the existing petrol/diesel carpark. That’s when the phone started ringing even more; this time not about future models or existing new-car models, but instead about the vehicles sitting in traffic. About one billion of them are on the world’s roads at the moment. Around 20 million of those are in Australia.
It’s an area of focus for the car industry. Oliver Blume, CEO of global sports car maker Porsche, correctly says these vehicles will be on the road for some decades to come.
He also says these vehicle owners need a zero-emissions option, too.
The average age of these cars in Australia is around 10 years and these vehicle owners aren’t all going to buy a new EV in the next few months. These vehicles need a solution. And quickly.
Developing that practical solution has been a big part of our work. In fact, it’s taken up a decent part of our last 11 years.
You can see why June 1 will always be special:
Personal mementoes make sure we’re always reminded of it.
Most importantly, we see it in our team every day. And that’s the best anniversary gift of all.
Bernie Quinn & Jim Jovanovski
Premcar
About Premcar – Premcar Pty Ltd is a leading Australian vehicle engineering business that specialises in the automotive, defence and aerospace industries. For more than 25 years, global car-makers have made Premcar their go-to partner for the complete design, engineering and manufacture of niche-model new cars, full-scale new-vehicle development programs, and electric vehicle (EV) conversions and manufacturing. As the name behind more than 200,000 new cars and 55,000 new-vehicle engines, Premcar’s body of work is extensive and has delivered technical and sales success for major car brands from Europe, the USA, Japan, China and Australia. Visit premcar.au.
Follow Premcar on Instagram – @premcaraustralia
Follow Premcar on LinkedIn – @Premcar Pty Ltd
