The South Coast of NSW could become a new manufacturing hub for the next generation of electric trucks and buses with a proposal to create a new production facility in Nowra by KRW Motor Group, a company owned by Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD) CEO and 50 per cent shareholder, Neil Wang.
Neil is best known as the man who brought the Foton brand back to life in Australia, taking it from a relative unknown to number-one in light-duty EV trucks sales two years in a row, delivering in excess of 200 EV trucks and the biggest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses into the Australian market.
His new project centres on construction of a 6,000-square-metre manufacturing facility on a 15,000-square-metre parcel of land in South Nowra owned by KRW Motor Group. A Development Application has been lodged with Shoalhaven Council.
If successful, the facility will produce battery electric buses and trucks, as well as hydrogen fuel cell engines, creating around 100 skilled manufacturing jobs for local workers. The factory will have capacity to build and deliver more than 400 buses a year.
A temporary facility will be opened as early as May 2025 to commence the training and upskilling of a local workforce, a spokesperson says.
Initially, the trucks and buses will be Foton badged, but the factory will have capacity to deal with other brands and products in the future.
It will also provide increased local content for buses currently supplied by FMD to the Australian market, with vehicles assembled from a mix of fully imported chassis, body panels and batteries, and locally sourced components.
Neil says the factory, once operational, will build on his track record of “innovation and Education”, creating partnerships with local TAFE’s and tertiary institutions to share and build knowledge around “all things zero emissions” and “new energy”.
The facility will produce battery electric trucks and buses as well as hydrogen fuel cell engines
FMD has worked closely with TAFE NSW, TAFE QLD and a raft of tertiary Institutions to provide technical skills and knowledge which now form the basis for a number of micro-skills courses designed to help industry partners meet the demands of zero emissions transport.
Additionally, the company, in conjunction with CSIRO and Federation University, has sponsored a PhD program covering the development of a PEMFC (hydrogen fuel system) suitable for tractors.
The announcement follows the NSW Government awarding a contract to Foton to deliver 126 battery electric buses that will be built in Nowra and service bus routes across Greater Sydney.
Foton’s bus contract was one of the first bus orders made through the Government’s Zero Emission Buses program, which is also converting 11 existing bus depots in Greater Sydney to battery electric technology and procuring around 1,200 new electric buses by 2028.
NSW Premier Chris Minns says the facility delivers on the Government’s commitment to domestic manufacturing, supporting local jobs and local industry to build up the state’s public transport services.
“This state-of-the-art facility in Nowra will create ongoing skilled jobs in regional NSW while also delivering emissions-free world class public transport for the people of our state,” he says.
Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement Courtney Houssos adds the new facility shows the high-quality products that NSW workers and businesses can deliver.
“By leveraging the power of government contracts like this, we can rebuild local industries, support local workers and grow the NSW economy, particularly in regional communities,” he says.
“This is an important milestone as we deliver on our pledge to bring domestic manufacturing back to NSW.”