Electric-vehicle conversion company moving to Gilbert, hiring 300

PHOENIX – A Tempe-based electric vehicle conversion manufacturer plans to move into a huge new facility in the East Valley before the end of year and then ramp up production by spring.

Zero Electric Vehicles said recently the move to a 103,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art site at Gilbert and Germann roads in the town of Gilbert.

Expansion will also create 300 jobs as the company expects to produce 40 light- and medium-duty vehicles a day by spring 2022.

Move-in day could be as soon as Dec. 1.

“We are grateful that ZEV chose Gilbert and thrilled for them to add to Gilbert’s thriving business community,” Mayor Brigette Peterson said in a press release.

Hiring would take place over the next 12 months, Peterson said.

The company said the high-tech jobs include “expertise in battery cell chemistries, thermal management and control interfaces.”

ZEV, which describes itself as a sustainable energy company for electric vehicles, converts diesel and gas cargo vehicles and passenger vehicles to all-electric.

In May, ZEV said it was working to eliminate over 144 million pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere “over the next 12 months.”

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