In October 2010, Blade Electric Vehicles was granted a Federal Department of Transport licence for unlimited production of the Electron Mark V.

“This is another milestone in the development of an Australian electric vehicle industry”, said Ross Blade. “Next year we will achieve another – the first EV with an all-Australian drive train.”

In 2011, Blade will launch the Electron Deep Green, which will bring new features, performance and affordability to the Australian electric vehicle industry.

Wednesday October 6 2010 saw the launch in Melbourne of the 5 year, $5m Victorian Electric Vehicle Trial. The Electron attended alongside the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and a plug-in Toyota Hybrid Camry (not yet available in Australia).

The Trial was launched by the Premier, John Brumby, who took a couple of spins around the Federation Square carpark in the Electron. He spoke at length about the purpose of the Trial – “to make Victoria an EV-friendly state”, and highlighted the success of Blade Electric Vehicles.

Transport and Roads Minister Tim Pallas also attended, as did Education Minister Bronwyn Pike.