UK electric sports car manufacturer to locate in Pittsylvania, creating 144 jobs

The United Kingdom’s only manufacturer of hand-built electric sports cars, RBW EV Cars, is investing $8 million to establish a manufacturing facility in an industrial park that is jointly owned by Danville and Pittsylvania County.

The project will create 144 jobs, according to the governor’s office. It’s too early to say what kind of jobs these will be, said Vic Ingram, chairman of the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facilities Authority.

Buildout is set to start immediately, with operations beginning early next year, said Matt Rowe, economic development director for Pittsylvania County.

The facility at the Cane Creek Centre industrial park off U.S. 58 will be the company’s first in the U.S. RBW also has operations in Europe, Asia and Bermuda, according to the release.

RBW was established in 2017 to build an electric system that could be applied to classic cars. It currently employs about 50 people, said David Splivalo, head of global communications for the company.

The Pittsylvania facility will produce the RBW’s first left-hand drive electric classic sports cars — Roadster and GT models — for the U.S. market. The Roadster has a starting price of $139,000 and the GT starts at $151,000, according to a news release.

These models debuted in the U.S. last week at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a car show in California.

“Both electric vehicles, which are based on the iconic British sports cars from the 1960s and 1970s, represent the first production models from the EV manufacturer to be purposely built for its single largest market: the United States,” said an Aug. 15 news release about the debut.

These cars are currently only built at RBW’s facility in Lichfield, England, where the company is headquartered. Production will expand to the U.S. with the Pittsylvania facility.

The company’s choice to locate in Southside “highlights the strength of our workforce and the appeal of our region,” Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones said in the news release.

The announcement also speaks to the region’s suitability for EV and EV-related manufacturing, Rowe said.

The Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill, the largest megasite in the Southeast United States, has been a contender several times in recent years for EV-related operations, though it has not landed a project yet.

“Southern Virginia is well-positioned for EV and related manufacturing, as has been seen with other megasite-related news,” Rowe said by email. “We are hopeful that there will be additional EV-related projects coming to the region over the coming months.”

Attracting this type of international, high-tech manufacturing is especially exciting for the region, which has relied on agriculture and textiles for much of its history, Ingram said.

“These cars are sold worldwide, and the business will be a worldwide attraction,” he said. “Considering where we came from, tobacco fields and textiles, to have so much economic development that has already happened, and with more to come, it’s exciting times.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Pittsylvania County, the city of Danville, the localities’ joint Regional Industrial Development Authority and the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance to secure this project, the release said.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Danville-Pittsylvania County with the project.

“Entrepreneurial, innovative companies like RBW Sports & Classics are helping put Virginia on the map for cutting-edge industry and jobs,” Youngkin said in the release. “The talented workforce in the region is a perfect fit.”

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