Teepee Electrical wired for growth after signing RBW deal

A Black Country electrical specialist has signed a major deal with Britain’s only manufacturer of hand-built electric cars.

Teepee Electrical, which has factories in Aldridge and Bloxwich, has extended its relationship with RBW Electric Cars to become its official harness and wiring loom partner.

The deal will see it supply up to 40 different systems – featuring both low voltage complex wiring harnesses and high voltage cable assemblies – for each classic car built at RBW’s Lichfield factory.

Engineers from the two companies have worked together to reverse engineer prototype systems and create detailed harness drawings, reducing manufacturing costs and developing components that are now ready for series production.

Steve Clarke, managing director of Teepee Electrical, commented: “We are very proud of our British manufacturing roots, so it is a big honour to be named as an official partner for this exciting project.

“There is nothing like RBW and it is very pleasing to see how founder Peter Swain and his team are so committed to designing and manufacturing the cars in the West Midlands, the original heart of the UK’s automotive sector.”

He continued: “We’ve worked closely to develop our manufacturing outputs on the complex cable assemblies and wiring looms that play a such a critical part in the electric drivetrain of the vehicles. With volumes expected to rise to hundreds of cars per year, this represents a great opportunity for us to grow too.”

RBW Electric Cars was inspired by Peter Swain’s love of classic British cars, a fascination with electrified drivetrains and desire to combine the two. He raised £5m from friends to fund his vision and, more recently, a £10m private equity injection has helped create a brand-new factory in Lichfield where the classic-looking but all-new cars are built.

“The interest in what we are doing is huge, with 334 cars already sold and our showrooms in Bermuda, Hong Kong and in London, proving extremely popular,” Swain said. “We’ve captured the imagination and now we need to deliver, which is why getting our supply chain right is so important.

“Teepee Electrical is the perfect example. We don’t want traditional automotive supplier relationships based purely on cost and constant demands. Instead, we prefer to develop long-term partnerships where we benefit from outstanding engineering expertise and there are mutual benefits throughout.

“Steve and his team have already solved a lot of cable assembly and wiring harness issues for us, and we are delighted with the agility it has shown in meeting stringent deadlines.”