Transforming off road travel in Australia

Jaunt Motors are building electric vehicles to enhance the future of off-road travel in Australia, while at the same time keeping the future of our planet in mind.

Jaunt Motors are entering the electric vehicle market in a new way aiming to be one of Australia's leaders in sustainable transport. They work to up-cycle iconic four-wheel drives, refurbishing them into electric vehicles for off-road adventures.

Dave Budge, one of the Founders spoke to Zara on our Difference Podcast and explained how his childhood was spent in Bendigo, Victoria spending much of his time exploring remote Australia. He was inspired by guilty feelings of driving a diesel four-wheel drive to explore the most pristine natural sites.

Like any startup, Dave identified a problem at a societal level which resonated with him as a more intrinsic personal issue too. Jaunt was very much a journey to discover a solution to both of these problems. Dave has brought his energy and personal passion for off-road driving and camping and transformed it into a new way to help change the world.

Australia has a very strong car culture along with a pristine wilderness which is seen as an adventure destination by both Australians and international travellers. However, along with the great potential, the country also has shown very slow adoption of electric vehicles compared to other developed countries. Australia has some of the highest transport emissions in the world per capita, per kilometre with no regular emissions testing and terribly inefficient vehicles. Along with these issues, we have very poor transport infrastructure due to our low population density.

Jaunt Motors aims to connect people to electric vehicles which not only reduce emissions but have the same aesthetic appeal and capabilities as our iconic four-wheel drives.

Jaunt is using the personality of old vehicles and up-cycling them to create a new and exciting product. We travel to experience local culture and to feel a connection to the particular place. Being able to explore your destination in an up-cycled farm vehicle which has a connection to your destination while at the same time being environmentally friendly would be an amazing experience and is one that the Jaunt team are aiming to develop.

Jaunt identified that the current electric vehicle game doesn’t identify with most Australians, creating a major gap in the market. Western Australia already has some of the best charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the country, which most people aren't even aware of.

Up-cycling not only gives more personality and meaning to the car it also saves a huge amount of resources. High labour costs do mean however, that up-cycling can cost more than manufacturing something new.