Jason Pecotic, who is the head of Clickdrive Pty Ltd which has announced it would distribute Grove’s FCEVs in Australia and New Zealand, said the plan was to build a hydrogen infrastructure – similar to that recently announced by Toyota and Hyundai – to support fleets of taxis and delivery vans.

Vehicles for private use would follow later, he said.

Pininfarina Concept sedan

“We’ve been working in the background here for the past two years on the infrastructure,” Mr Pecotic told GoAutoNews Premium.

“We think that at this stage that anything product-wise would be here in the first quarter of 2021.

“The first cars will be a taxi that will use hydrogen bowsers established here by Grove. This would be extended to delivery vehicles.

“We plan to start in Sydney and Melbourne.”

Mr Pecotic said Grove was now building a van and a taxi because it sees these as being the first to be accepted by larger companies running fleets.

He said hydrogen was preferred because he did not believe there was sufficient charging and power supply infrastructure to support battery-electric vehicles.

“People are starting to realise hydrogen is becoming of more interest,” he said.

In a press release, Grove and Clickdrive jointly said they “plan to develop a series of vehicles compatible to legal and environmental requirements of hydrogen cars in each country (Australia and New Zealand) while also catering to local consumers for their preferences to the styles of cars”.

Grove Hydrogen Automotive founder and CEO Hao Yiguo said: “With both Australia and New Zealand actively moving forward in the hydrogen economy, we have a perfect target to establish a key development market for Grove.

“Our cars are developed with a global development vision, and our partner Clickdrive is experienced in developing Australia and New Zealand markets.”

Yiguo Hao

The statement said that the co-operation between Grove and Clickdrive “extends far beyond the distribution of cars”.

“The two companies will work together to make cars strictly (compliant) to legal and environmental requirements and adapted to customer demands,” the statement said.

“We have a strong partner in Australia and New Zealand as Clickdrive understands not only the local markets but also the dynamics of both hydrogen cars and development of new brands.”

Grove chief marketing and strategy officer Brendan Norman said: “Grove is a dynamic company and in Clickdrive we have found an equally dynamic partner with great experience in the distribution, service and customer expectation.

“We see Jason and the Clickdrive team not only as a distribution partner but also as a key part of our development and service process.”

Mr Pecotic, who started Clickdrive in 2014 and who is also general manager of bus distributor Bus Corp Oceania that imports the Optare brand from Ashok Leyland in the UK, said there was no relationship between Grove and his bus company.

Grove Hydrogen Automotive presented two FCEVs at the recent Shanghai motor show. The company is a state-owned division of the Chinese Institute of Geosciences and Environment that has developed a process of extracting hydrogen from industrial waste.

The institute said it is working with large Chinese cities to expand hydrogen infrastructure.

Grove’s automotive manufacturing operations have only started this year, based in the Chinese province of Wuhan.

The company has a design studio in Barcelona, Spain, and has partnered with Pininfarina – owned by Geely – to help develop the vehicles.

By Neil Dowling

Brendan Norman