PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — A British electric vehicle manufacturing company is expanding into Pittsylvania County and creating nearly 150 jobs.
The England-based RBW EV Cars is gearing up to open a new manufacturing facility at the Cane Creek Centre Industrial Park in Pittsylvania County.Cane Creek Industrial Park is owned by both Danville and Pittsylvania County
This will RBW’s first facility in the U.S. According to a press release from Governor Glenn Youngkin, The new facility will produce the company’s first left-hand drive RBW EV Roadster and GT models for the U.S. market.
RBW is the United Kingdom’s only manufacturer of hand-built electric classic sports cars.
CEO Peter Swain said even though the cars have a 50’s and 60’s look, they are built brand new with all the modern technology.
Danville City Manager, Ken Larking, said he is thrilled to welcome RBW to the area.
“It’s great to see someone all the way from England come over here and recognize that we have great quality of life here in the Southern Region of Virginia. It’s just great news. It confirmed what we already know here in Danville, that people like being here and like doing business here,” Larking said.
Larking said that the Danville Industrial Development Authority has owned a building on Barker Road at the Cane Creek Centre for years, and now it will be put to good use at RBW’s new U.S home
RBW has sold and manufactured cars in London, Hong Kong, and Bermuda, and now they are ready to take the U.S. by storm.
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“It’s a dream come true to be launching in the U.S.” Swain said.
Swain added that during his visits in the Danville and Pittsylvania County area, he knew it was the place for RBW to expand. He said that Danville and Pittsylvania County’s positivity and success the area has in economic growth is what led them to choose it as their first U.S. location.
“It seems like a big effort from the ground up and getting that sense of purpose and direction. That’s not in every community, and it just felt like we met the right people at the right time, and we can really build something very special here.
The new facility is also creating 144 new jobs.
“We have a whole plethora of jobs, from hand-built bodies, body shells for cars, right through to technical electronics and software.” Swain said,” We have everything from software to batteries to harnesses to leather, We’ve got our own leather section and we’re going to need people across the boards with different skill sets. But most of all, positive mindsets.”
RBW plans to get started on working on the facility in the next few weeks. It is expected to be open for production early next year.
