A company based in the United Kingdom is bringing an electric vehicle manufacturing facility to the Dan River Region, driving 144 new jobs along with it. On Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that RBW Sports & Classics will invest $8 million to establish a manufacturing facility at Cane Creek Centre, an industrial park jointly owned by the city of Danville and Pittsylvania County.
The plant will produce the company’s first left-hand drive RBW EV Roadster and GT models for the U.S. market, the governor said.
RBW Sports & Classics is the United Kingdom’s only manufacturer of hand-built electric classic sports cars. “Entrepreneurial, innovative companies like RBW Sports & Classics are helping put Virginia on the map for cutting-edge industry and jobs,” Youngkin said in a news release. “The talented workforce in the region is a perfect fit for RBW Sports & Classics’ plans.
" The facility will be located in the former U.S. Green Energy building at 1350 Barker Road in the industrial park, said Kelvin Perry, assistant director of economic development and tourism for Danville.
RBW Sports & Classics, based in the United Kingdom, plans to bring an electric sports vehicle manufacturing facility to the former U.S. Green Energy site at Cane Creek Centre industrial park.
"We are excited that they have selected our community to come here based upon our continued commitment to provide a quality workforce and that they see this as a place to start and grow their company," Perry told the Danville Register & Bee. Pittsylvania County Economic Development Director Matt Rowe said the company should begin operations at Cane Creek in the first half of 2025. RBW's decision to come to the Dan River Region "validates the strengths that we have in the region when it comes to a quality workforce and business-friendly environment we foster here.
" The jobs' average annual salaries will be in the "mid-50s and up before benefits," he said. Cane Creek Centre industrial park is owned by the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority, a joint entity that includes Danville and Pittsylvania County. The former U.
S. Green Energy building is owned by the Danville Industrial Development Authority. RBW will lease the building through a lease-to-purchase agreement with the IDA, Rowe said.
To recruit the company, Rowe and representatives from the city of Danville and the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance traveled to the United Kingdom this past spring. "I drove one of their cars," he said. "It's a special vehicle and product that they create.
" "They have a backlog of orders," Rowe added. "They need to get cars out the door." RBW Sports & Classics Limited was founded in 2017, according to the release.
It delivered its first cars in the United Kingdom and internationally in 2022 and opened its first factory in the United Kingdom in 2023 registered as a new EV car manufacturer. RBW Sports & Classics will invest $8 million to establish a manufacturing facility at Cane Creek Centre, an industrial park jointly owned by the city of Danville and Pittsylvania County. “RBW’s decision to establish its operations in Southern Virginia underscores our region’s dedication to investing in assets that attract investment and generate employment opportunities,” Corrie Bobe, director of the Danville Office of Economic Development & Tourism, said in a prepared statement.
“This facility will mark RBW’s first venture in the US for manufacturing a vehicle that integrates modern mobility technology with luxurious vintage aesthetics. We are honored to welcome RBW as a key partner in our expanding automotive ecosystem.” The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Pittsylvania County, the city of Danville, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance and other entities to secure the project for Virginia.
“RBW is a wonderful addition to everything that Pittsylvania County and the region has to offer, and the international flavor that it brings is especially exciting,” Vic Ingram, Chairman of the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority, said in a prepared statement. “It is encouraging when companies from all over the world want to establish a corporate relationship with Pittsylvania County and we are thrilled to welcome RBW to our community." Youngkin approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund for the project.
“Southern Virginia is in the middle of the mobility corridor of the southeastern United States – centered between some of the greatest transportation and energy universities in the world and an excellent skilled workforce to ensure that RBW will excel in their first U.S. operation,” Linda Green, executive director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, said in a prepared statement.
“They will love our region; our region and the nation will love their cars.” John R. Crane (434) 791-7987 jcrane@registerbee.
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