R1T upfitter MEVCO goes bankrupt in Australia

[ACDC]

https://www.drive.com.au/news/austr...-bust-numerous-ev-utes-could-be-up-for-grabs/

A Perth start-up that hoped to supply Australia's mines with electric utes has entered administration, owing millions of dollars and with more than a dozen Rivian utes left on its list of assets.

Mining Electric Vehicle Company (MEVCO) was established in 2022 to sell electric utes to mining companies, commencing its operations with plans in 2023 to distribute 8500 Toyota HiLux and LandCruiser utes converted to battery power.

In April 2024, it announced a deal with Rivian that would see MEVCO modify the R1T – produced exclusively in left-hand drive – to mining specifications, targeting mining operations in Australia and North America.

Documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) show the firm entered administration on September 10, 2025, with three HiLux utes and 13 R1Ts in the company's assets.

The paperwork lists a further four unnamed Rivian vehicles, at least one of which is believed to be a van.

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[No_Name5330]

Well that didn’t take long

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

"Electric vehicle start-up". Lazy journalism.

 

[Nixapatfan]

That explains why some of them Rivians are showing up on facebook marketplace.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Here's a picture of the van, btw. Found it on one of their old social media posts:

Most annoyingly, this story is "getting a lot of legs" on social media pages calling "climate change a hoax". They think it's hilarious. I commented on one about "it just making good sense, if you're operating a vehicle around workers inside a mine tunnel, you don't want it blowing out exhaust fumes", with predictable replies.

I hate social media sometimes.


Edit: One other comment, from someone who seems to have some knowledge of the company says "the CEO has gone into hiding in the US". He's not hiding too much, he's just a few miles from me, LOL.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Here's a picture of the van, btw. Found it on one of their old social media posts:

Most annoyingly, this story is "getting a lot of legs" on social media pages calling "climate change a hoax". They think it's hilarious. I commented on one about "it just making good sense, if you're operating a vehicle around workers inside a mine tunnel, you don't want it blowing out exhaust fumes", with predictable replies.

I hate social media sometimes.


Edit: One other comment, from someone who seems to have some knowledge of the company says "the CEO has gone into hiding in the US". He's not hiding too much, he's just a few miles from me, LOL.

Too bad there isn't a bounty? yet?

 

[HaveBlue]

That's a shame but how much outfitting does a Rivian really need to be a ute in a mine? About the only thing that would be useful would be a ccs2 converter and port instead of ccs1/nacs.

 

[atebit]

Well for one thing, there’s that glow in the dark paint. They don’t apply that at the factory, ya know…

 

[Zoul]

I wonder if for the Australian market they were being required to convert them to rhd. This is pretty common for outfitters to do, they've been doing it for ram trucks for decades. But it would be a hell of an undertaking on a rivian.

Other modifications they were toting: panoramic roof delete panels and I think they were claiming brush guard, chase rack, and rock sliders would be made in house. There is also some type of upfitter electrical kit for adding radios and other equipment. The color is a wrap so it could easily be changed to the mining company logos. The ones on marketplace look fairly unmolested and priced accordingly. Could be a good buy for someone doing an over landing build, but I wouldn't pay extra for one.

Maybe they could stay in business if they started manufacturing and selling all these parts to regular consumers? Or sell off designs and tooling to a company that focuses on rivian modifications.

 

[Nixapatfan]

According to 1 listing the green is paint not a wrap.

If they offered some of the custom parts like the roof to the aftermarket they might be able to recoup a lot of development costs. I would have bought it instead of replacing my broken glass. Some of their other parts seem interesting like the 2 level gear tunnel slide, bed rack and lighting kit.

 

[Zoul]

According to 1 listing the green is paint not a wrap.

If they offered some of the custom parts like the roof to the aftermarket they might be able to recoup a lot of development costs. I would have bought it instead of replacing my broken glass. Some of their other parts seem interesting like the 2 level gear tunnel slide, bed rack and lighting kit.

Interesting the last listing I saw said it was wrapped, and the door jambs and underfrunk did not match. I think it was a white truck underneath. I know they had a few trucks, so maybe they were experimenting on color change methods.

I agree on the roof, I didn't hate the glass on the test-drive but if I was footing the bill for replacement I'd rather it not be glass. I feel like that would be an easy sell either on there own or supplying a site sponsor.

At least their's looks better than that abomination from the florida chop shop.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Interesting the last listing I saw said it was wrapped, and the door jambs and underfrunk did not match. I think it was a white truck underneath. I know they had a few trucks, so maybe they were experimenting on color change methods.

I agree on the roof, I didn't hate the glass on the test-drive but if I was footing the bill for replacement I'd rather it not be glass. I feel like that would be an easy sell either on there own or supplying a site sponsor.

At least their's looks better than that abomination from the florida chop shop.

One modded for necessity of a mine site. The other modded to supplement ED. MEVCO being a upfit startup looking for customers and investors, I’d take the claims with great skepticism. For all we know the roof on the “concepts” could just be wrapped, with intent to replace with metal on customer units. It doesn’t make sense to go through expense of conversion without paying customers.

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