We visited ECD Automotive’s new facility where it’s building electric Jaguar E-Types with Tesla motors
After visiting ECD Automotive Design’s original footprint in Florida earlier this year, the custom EV conversion specialists invited us back for a tour of its its new 100,000 square-foot facility up the street. It’s here that the company is setting up a second assembly line to build all-electric versions of the Jaguar E-Type to join all the classic Land Rovers it has been converting for years.
ECD Automotive Design is a custom vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Kissimmee, Florida, founded by three Brits whose love for UK classics like the Defender and Range Rover has propelled the company’s status in becoming one of the most prominent producers of custom Land Rovers in the world.
As we showcased in our first visit to the original facility last February, ECD’s focus on the utmost quality, luxury, and willingness to never say no to a customer’s request has garnered a loyal customer base, some of which who purchase two or three bespoke vehicles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each.
As a company that works to continuously improve and evolve, ECD Automotive Design has begun offering more and more electrified versions of its lineup. As its order book continues to fill up, so does its demand for all-electric builds, including the Jaguar E-Type – ECD’s latest all-electric offering initially announced in June.
The custom vehicle designer is now up and running at its new facility around the corner from the single garage unit the three founders started in a decade ago, so the team invited us out to tour the new space, see where the electric Jaguars will be assembled, and experience some of the technologies it is using to deliver perfection to its customers. Check it out.
ECD Automotive Design gets major upgrade with new facility
While my latest invite to Florida was a joy to experience, I’m glad I got to visit ECD’s original facility earlier this year for comparison. Nothing against the old building, but this is a tremendous upgrade for the custom vehicle specialist in every department, and its founders won’t disagree.
After my first visit, I reported how impressive ECD’s astute attention to detail was, and that granularity extends well beyond the quality of its vehicles throughout its entire production process from square one. Since my last visit, ECD has set up its own UK logistics hub where it locates the Land Rovers and Jaguars, then ships them to Florida.
As ECD co-founder Scott Wallace toured me around 100k square-foot facility, he explained that ECD is completely self-sufficient now, and thanks to its UK hub, has cut overseas shipping times down from 100 days to about 24. Wallace explained, “We control everything now. Every single aspect of our builds. Other vendors just couldn’t keep up with us.”
The ECD leaders enable their employees to work in any way that makes them most happy, as long as they’re also at their most productive. Wallace explained that this freedom empowers its staff to work hard and strive toward the consistent delivery of quality the brand demands, especially as it continues to raise the bar for its clients on each custom build.
Wallace pointed out that ECD partnered up with 3M for the new facility, who provides the equipment for sanding and other body work. Dust is down 95%, ensuring a safer work environment that’s also much cleaner. What’s interesting is that it was the employees who chose 3M, not Wallace or his partners. He explained that the team members who work with those materials and machines each day know best, so they were the ones who spoke with to the respective company reps to decide which one to partner with. 3M came out the winner.
Same goes for PPG Paint and ECD’s new state-of-the-art, custom built booths. Again, designed by the painters themselves, not the owners or industrial professionals. As we navigated past the new assembly lines, all the air-conditioned spaces for wiring and upholstery, and into paint, I was surprised when Wallace opened the booth door for me and explained it was time to do some painting myself.
Shoutout to my teacher John who walked me through the entire mixing, spraying, and finishing process, giving me a final score of 92/100. Scott Wallace was impressed by my score and told me I was hired. As you may recall, Wallace had me try a hydro dip last time I visited, now I’m painting. I joked that he’s grooming me to join the team and next visit I may get thrown onto the assembly line of a new electric Jaguar E-Type.
Speaking of which the upcoming Jaguar was the main focus of my recent visit and is already setting the stage for ECD’s further leap into quality electric vehicle conversions.
A majority of Jaguar E-Types on order are electric
Following news of the company’s addition of the Jaguar E-Type to its lineup, I got to see the assembly line where the electric versions will be built and view a couple inspiration models up close. As you can see above, the new South Line at ECD HQ will be dedicated specifically to building Jaguar E-Types, and a majority will be electric to start.
Co-founder Tom Humble took me for a ride in a combustion version of the E-Type, which will also be available to customers, but explained there’s more of an appetite for the electric version out of the gate. Before ECD Automotive Design officially released news of its custom Jaguars, Humble sent out am email to a couple dozen of the company’s top customers to gauge interest.
He explained that ECD got 10 or 12 Jaguar E-Type orders from that group alone, and seven of those were requests for the electric version, including the very first customer build. The staff in charge of performing the Jaguar builds is currently familiarizing itself with the E-Type inside and out before production begins, and it will be slow start.
Scott Wallace told me they anticipate the Jaguar will spend 30 days at each station on the assembly line. For comparison, the custom Land Rovers being built on the North Line spend four days at each of the 20 stations, down from five days per station at the old facility. While the Jaguars will be slow to start, output is expected to pick up as the staff becomes more confident in the build process. Wallace explained that they all have learned a lot the last ten years, and the team will apply that know-how to the assembly of the E-Types as well.
Like the current Land Rovers, the electric versions of Jaguar will be converted using a 450 hp Tesla Model S motor and a 100 kW battery pack. Due to the design of the E-Type however, ECD thinks it might be able to utilize one solid battery pack instead of having to split it up 40/60 like it does in the Land Rovers.
The team expects the electric Jaguars to deliver between 180-200 miles of range and come equipped with a J1772 plug. Looking ahead, ECD Automotive Design is exploring additional EV features like DC fast charging and dual motor powertrains – two options I expressed could truly help entice even more customers, especially as the demand for electricification grows in its orders.
Looking ahead, ECD has plans for a third assembly section next to the Jaguar South Line that will be dedicated to prebuilt models, for those customers who don’t want to wait through the 2,200 hour design and build process.
With the new facility, the team expected to be able to produce about 120 custom builds a year, but Wallace explained to me that it’s looking more like 180, and could be even larger once the Jaguar lines start humming.
For our next visit to ECD, we intend to drive the custom, all-electric Jaguar E-Type and document it for you. Until then, you can check out the live feed of cameras throughout ECD Automotive Design to see what one-of-a-kind vehicles the company is working on right now.
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The new John Deere Z370RS Electric ZTrak zero turn electric riding mower promises all the power and performance Deere’s customers have come to expect from its quiet, maintenance-free electric offerings – but with an all new twist: removable batteries.
The latest residential ZT electric mower from John Deere features a 42″ AccelDeep mower deck for broad, capable cuts through up to 1.25 acres of lawn per charge, which is about what you’d expect from the current generation of battery-powered Deeres – but this is where the new Z370RS Electric ZTrak comes into its own.
Flip the lid behind the comfortably padded yellow seat and you’ll be greeted by six (6!) 56V ARC Lithium batteries from electric outdoor brand EGO. Those removable batteries can be swapped out of the Z370RS for fresh ones in seconds, getting you back to work in less time than it takes to gravity pour a tank of gas.
And, because they’re EGO batteries, they can be used in any 56V-powered EGO-brand tools and minibikes for unprecedented cross-brand interoperability. Tools and minibikes that, it should be noted, can be purchased at John Deere dealers across the country.
The upsell scripts write themselves, kids. And when you start your dialing, tell your prospective customers their new Z370RS Electric ZTrak electric mower lists for $6,499, and if you order now we can bundle it with EGO minibike for the kiddos – just in time for the holidays!
Electrek’s Take
When John Deere launched the first Z370R, Peter Johnson wrote that electrifying lawn equipment needs to be a priority, citing EPA data that showed gas-powered lawnmowers making up five percent of the total air pollution in the US (despite covering far less than 5% of the total miles driven on that gas). “Moreover,” he writes, “it takes about 800 million gallons of gasoline each year (with an additional 17 million gallons spilled) to fuel this equipment.”
It should go without saying, then, that states like California, which are banning small off-road combustion engines, have the right idea.
SOURCE | IMAGES: John Deere.
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![Daimler CEO just dropped some pretty WILD pro-hydrogen claims [update]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/hydrogen_semi.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Daimler Truck AG CEO Karin Rådström hopped on LinkedIn today and dropped some absolutely wild pro-hydrogen talking points, using words like “emotional” and “inspiring” while making some pretty heady claims about the viability and economics of hydrogen. The rant is doubly embarrassing for another reason: the company’s hydrogen trucks are more than 100 million miles behind Volvo’s electric semis.
UPDATE 22NOV2025: Daimler just delivered five new hydrogen semis for trials.
While it might be hard to imagine why a company as seemingly smart as Daimler Truck AG continues to invest in hydrogen when study after study has shut down its viability as a transport fuel, it makes sense when you consider that the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) holds approximately 5% of Daimler and parent company Mercedes’ shares.
That’s not a trivial stake. Indeed, 5% is enough to make KIA one of the few actors with both the access and the motivation to shape conversations about Daimler’s long-term technology bets, and as a major oil-producing country whose economy would undoubtedly take a hit if oil demand plummeted, any future fuel that’s measured molecules instead of electrons isn’t just a concept for the Kuwaiti economy: it’s a lifeline.
What’s more, Kuwait’s “Oil Strategy 2040” includes plans to nearly double crude oil production and invest billions of dollars in new oil extraction projects and downstream refining facilities, even as the rest of the world rushes to decarbonize.
In that context, the push to make hydrogen seem like an attractive decarbonization option makes more sense. So, instead of giving Daimler’s hydrogen propaganda team yet another platform to try and convince people that hydrogen might make for a viable transport fuel eventually by giving five Mercedes-Benz GenH2 semi trucks to its customers at Hornbach, Reber Logistik, Teva Germany with its brand ratiopharm, Rhenus, and DHL Supply Chain, I’m just going to re-post Daimler CEO Karin Rådström’s comments from Hydrogen Week.
Earlier this month, Daimler Truck AG issued a press release entitled, “Five and a Half Times Around the World: Daimler Truck Fuel Cell Trucks Successfully Complete More Than 225,000 km (~139,000 miles) in Real-World Customer Operations.” Don’t bother looking for it on Electrek, though. I didn’t run it. And I didn’t run it because, frankly, a fleet of over-the-road semi trucks managing to cover a little over half the number of miles that David Blenkle put on his single Ford Mustang Mach-E isn’t particularly impressive.
In the meantime, Daimler competitors like Volvo, Renault, and even tiny Motiv are racking up millions and millions of all-electric miles and MAN Truck CEO Alexander Vlaskamp is saying that it’s impossible for hydrogen to compete with batteries. Heck, even Daimler’s own eActros BEV semi trucks are putting up better numbers than those hydrogen deals.
So, why then is Rådström pouring on the hydrogen love over at LinkedIn?
For some reason – posts about hydrogen always stir up emotions. I think hydrogen (not “instead of” but “in parallel to” electric) plays a role in the decarbonization of heavy duty transport in Europe for three reasons:
- If we would go “electric only” we need to get the electric grid to a level where we can build enough charging stations for the 6 million trucks in Europe. It will take many years and be incredibly expensive. A hydrogen infrastructure in parallel will be less expensive and you don’t need a grid connection to build it, putting 2000 H2 stations in Europe is relatively easy.
- Europe will rely on import of energy, and it could be transported into Europe from North Africa and Middle East as liquid hydrogen. Better to use that directly as fuel than to make electricity out of it.
- Some use cases of our customers are better suited for fuel cells than electric trucks – the fuel cell truck will allow higher payload and longer ranges.
At European Hydrogen Week, I saw firsthand the energy and ambition behind Europe’s net-zero goals. It’s inspiring—but also a wake-up call. We’re not moving fast enough.
What we need:
- Large-scale hydrogen production and transport to Europe
- A robust refueling network that goes beyond AFIR
- And real political support to make it happen – we need smart, efficient regulation that clears the path instead of adding hurdles.
To show what’s possible, we brought our Mercedes-Benz GenH2 to Brussels. From the end of 2026, we’ll deploy a small series of 100 fuel cell trucks to customers.
Let’s build the infrastructure, the momentum, and the partnerships to make zero-emission transport a reality. 🚛 and let’s try to avoid some of the mistakes that we see now while scaling up electric. And let’s stop the debate about “either or”. We need both.
Commenters were quick to point out that Daimler recently received €226M in grants from German federal and state governments to build 100 fuel cell trucks – but, while Daimler for sure doesn’t want to give back the money, it’s also pretty difficult to believe that Rådström’s pro-hydrogen posturing is sincere.
Especially since most of it seems like nonsense.
We’re not doing any of that
At the risk of sounding “emotional,” Rådström’s claims that building a hydrogen infrastructure in parallel will be less expensive than building an electrical infrastructure, and that “you don’t need a grid connection to build it,” are objectively false.
Further, if her claim that “putting 2,000 H2 stations in Europe is relatively easy” isn’t outright laughable, it’s worth noting that Europe had just 265 hydrogen filling stations in operation in 2024 (and only 40% of those, or about 100, were capable of serving HD trucks). At the same time, the IEA reported that there are nearly five million public charging ports already in service on the continent.
Next, the claim that, “Europe will rely on import of energy, and it could be transported into Europe from North Africa and Middle East as liquid hydrogen” (emphasis mine), is similarly dubious – especially when faced with the fact that, in 2023, wind and solar already supplied about 27–30% of EU electricity.
I will agree, however, with one of Rådström’s claims. She notes that, “some use cases of our customers are better suited for fuel cells than electric trucks – the fuel cell truck will allow higher payload and longer ranges.” That’s debatable, but widely accepted as true … for now. Daimler’s own research into lighter, more energy-dense, and lower-cost solid-state battery technology, however, may mean that it won’t be true for long, however.
Unless, of course, Mercedes’ solid-state batteries don’t work (and she would know more about that than I would, as a mere blogger).
Electrek’s Take
As you can imagine, the Karin Rådström post generated quite a few comments at the Electrek watercooler. “Insane to claim that building hydrogen stations would be cheaper than building chargers,” said one fellow writer. “I’m fine with hydrogen for long haul heavy duty, but lying to get us there is idiotic.”
Another comment I liked said, “(Rådström) says that chargers need to be on the grid – you already have a grid, and it’s everywhere!”
At the end of the day, I have to echo the words of one of Mercedes’ storied engineering partners and OEM suppliers, Mahle, whose Chairman, Arnd Franz, who that building out a hydrogen infrastructure won’t be possible without “blue” H made from fossil fuels as recently as last April, and maybe that’s what this is all about: fossil fuel vehicles are where Daimler makes its biggest profits (for now), and muddying the waters and playing up this idea that we’re in some sort of “messy middle” transition makes it just easy enough for a reluctant fleet manager to say, “maybe next time” when it comes to EVs.
We, and the planet, will suffer for such cowardice – but maybe that’s too much malicious intent to ascribe to Ms. Rådström. Maybe this is just a simple “Hanlon’s razor” scenario and there’s nothing much else to read into it.
Let us know what you think of Rådström’s pro-hydrogen comments, and whether or not Daimler’s shareholders should be concerned about the quality of the research behind their CEO’s public posts, in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Karin Rådström, via LinkedIn.
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Audi embraced its future in China with the launch of a new Chinese market electric sub-brand called AUDI that ditched the iconic “four rings” logo in favor of four capital letters – but one thing this latest concept hasn’t ditched is the brand’s traditionally teutonic long-roof design language.
Co-developed with Audi’s Chinese production partner, SAIC, the all-new AUDI E SUV concept is based on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) skateboard, and is only the second model introduced by the company’s domestic sub-brand — which was all-new itself just one year ago.
“The AUDI E SUV concept celebrates the new AUDI brand’s first anniversary following the E concept’s debut in Guangzhou (2024),” said Fermín Soneira, CEO of the Audi and SAIC cooperation, at the E SUV’s unveiling. “It showcases an unmistakable AUDI design language that gives the SUV a prestigious, progressive stance — with no compromise between sporty aesthetics and interior roominess or versatility. This concept embodies our vision for premium electric mobility by fusing Audi’s engineering heritage with digital innovation to fulfill our commitment in China.”
As a vehicle, the AUDI E SUV concept promises to handle “like an Audi,” and is powered by a pair of electric motors good for a combined 500 kW (~670 hp), good enough to get the big crossover from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in about five seconds. Those efficient motors are fed electrons by a 109 kWh battery riding on AUDI’s 800V Advanced Digital Platform system architecture, and can allegedly add 320 km (~200 miles) of range in under 10 minutes at a high-powered DC fast charging station.
If you’re a fan of self-driving tech, the AUDI 360 Driving Assist System is the AUDI E SUV concept is for you, with features that, “enable a relaxed and safe driving experience – on highways, in dense city traffic, and during assisted parking.”
No word yet on pricing, but it likely won’t matter. As successful as the AUDI sub-brand has been, it’s still a long shot that we’ll ever get these Stateside, no matter what Canada does.
AUDI E SUV concept
SOURCE | IMAGES: Audi.
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