CAD CAM Automotive set to create 600 jobs at new Coventry factory

600 jobs are set to be created in Coventry after an automotive design and manufacturing company signed a joint venture deal with an electric vehicle maker in Belarus. The deal to create Wave Industries with BKM Holding, based in Minsk, will see CAD CAM Automotive establish a zero-emissions manufacturing plant in the UK.

The 300 Series electric bus will be launched at the Euro Bus Expo 2020 at the NEC in Birmingham in November and the production of an initial 300 vehicles will start in Coventry early next year which will reach up to 800 buses annually by 2025 when 600 jobs will have been created.

The two businesses are also collaborating on a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric delivery van which is due to be launched in the UK late next year.

Martyn Wheeler, chief executive of Wave Industries, met the ambassador of Belarus Sergei Aleinik and Sergey Chistov from BKM Holding to finalise the distribution agreement and business plan at Coventry Transport Museum.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Craig Humphrey, managing director of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub were also present.

The final negotiations were concluded during a Belarus-UK trade mission which included Thomas Ashton, design director at CCA, Craig Humphrey, Keith Budden, head of business development at CENEX and David Wright, director at Strategic Initiatives at Coventry University, who took part in the five-day visit to Minsk.

Wheeler said: “Our aim is to be a world leader in the development and manufacture of fully integrated Zero Emissions vehicles and transport systems.

“We are bringing together the heritage, expertise, skills base and research and design excellence of our business with the proven electric vehicle technology experience of Belarus.

“As well as creating 600 new jobs, there will a tremendous amount of Intellectual Property Rights and Research and Design work included in the joint venture.

“We will export the electric vehicles to Commonwealth countries and talks are already underway to supply the electric buses to Egypt and Nigeria.

“We are actively seeking a UK retailer or logistics partner to collaborate with us in the development of the commercial van.

“We won’t just be bringing buses and vans to the UK but the complete design and installation of transport infrastructure systems.”

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