World's biggest factory for battery-electrics
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• The growing versatility of battery-electric vehicles was strikingly demonstrated last week by a parade of a dozen models representing different commercial applications. The parade was organized as part of the official opening at Tredegar of the new factory of Austin Crompton Parkinson Electric Vehicles Ltd., producers of Morrison-Electricar models, whose factory at Wigston, Leicestershire, will be closed down at the end of this month.
The new plant, which was officially opened by the Secretary of State for Wales, Mr George Thomas, has been building up production for about a year and is now producing about 25 vehicles a week. The planned production of the present 4.8-acre works, which has 70,000 sq. ft. of factory floor space, is 2,500 vehicles a year. But there is room for expansion, since AC PEV Ltd. has bought a total of 7.3 acres on the Tredegar industrial estate.
Reference to expansion plans were made during the opening ceremony by Mr E. W. Pedlow. acting chairman, who said that Morrison-Electricar had already secured over 60 per cent of the UK market for this type of vehicle and intended both to enlarge the total market and increase its own share. The company has also laid plans for building exports, for which it feels there is a great potential.
Said Mr Pedlow: "In this day and age where air polution is such a major problem in our congested cities there are many roles which could be usefully performed by 'eketries', such as refuse collection, maintenance of street lighting, parcels delivery and similar operations where frequent stops are called for. It is high time the councils of our boroughs stepped into the 20th century and gave electric vehicles the consideration they deserve."
Vehicles in the cavalcade included several dairy and bakery trucks and vans, a mobile butcher's shop, a research laboratory, GPO parcels van, refuse collector, the hydraulic aerial-lift maintenance vehicle with a Skyworker unit as exhibited at Earls Court, a 25-seat bus and an armoured wages delivery unit.
The new factory has twice the capacity of the Wigston works and is said to be the largest electric-vehicles plant in the world.