air-cooled VW Buses & Classic cars
Electric conversions for YOUR AIR-COOLED VW bus and classic cars
About Our Electric Conversions Business
What began as an R&D project a few years back is now a functioning business. We are converting all VW vehicles—Beetles, Bugs, Ghias, and our beloved Buses. Have a VW Thing? We’ll do that, too. We offer various motor/battery configurations and get you a range from 70 to over 150 miles. We are actively developing a Vanagon solution that will exceed 200 miles. We are very excited about this and are taking reservations now!
Peace Vans Electric originally began as an Art Car creation for the Burning Man Festival and has now become a much sought-after project for many Volkswagen owners. Going electric has numerous benefits, including less periodic maintenance, flexibility, and efficiency. And, to be honest, it’s a ton of fun. We’ve been driving our prototype for over a year now, and it is just a joy.
Check out our featured projects
Marine Layer bus
In 2024 we partnered up with Marine Layer, based in San Francisco to turn their VW bus electric.
1978 Air-Cooled VW BUS
Mike was one of the first people to reach out to us about converting his own air-cooled bus to electric. He now enjoys taking the family out on adventures with more ease.
1977 Westfalia camper
1971 Doka (double cab)
FAQ
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Yes—we will begin taking reservations for this build-out soon! You can expect 200 miles of range but a price tag to go with it. Reach out to us below to learn more.
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For years, hobbyists have been converting classic cars to electric. But only recently has it really become a practical undertaking - decent range, great telemetry, recharging infrastructure, safe batteries, etc. A few years ago, Peace Vans began tinkering with some electric conversions, and in the past year, we decided to make a “full go” of it and build a team, dedicated real estate, invest in R&D, etc. to create the best place in the PNW to convert your classic car to electric.
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Our standard package is $49,995. This includes removing all internal combustion components and installing the electric power plant, batteries, etc. This does not include additional mechanical work required. This price is for our entry-level battery package, which will range between 70-90 miles depending on vehicle type, etc.
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Projects typically take 3-4 months from start to finish.
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Sadly, no. Body and paint work will extend the project significantly and add much to the total cost. The first step we will take is inspecting the vehicle to understand any additional work that needs to happen (e.g., brakes, electrical, suspension). From there, we can make a master plan for you.
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The range will vary greatly depending on the vehicle and battery pack (which is a proxy for cost). The most basic conversions on the heaviest vehicles will be about 60-70 miles. The more expensive (more batteries) on lighter vehicles could see as high as 160 miles. We realize even 160 miles isn’t realistic for road trips—most folks interested in these conversions are not using their vehicles for long road trips. If you need>200 miles, it will be a bit longer of a wait as batteries evolve a bit more.
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To get more information, fill out the form below.
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We passionately believe that converting classic cars is a fun & interesting project; we fully expect to be converting other classic cars in the future.
We intend to scale this out more in 2024. We will let the market help us determine what platform is next.
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No. There’s a large after-market ecosystem for these parts, and we leverage that.
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Yes! You’re welcome to come down and test-drive on of our conversions. We also rent the electric 1977 VW Bus we call Frieda for events and other special occasions (e.g. photo shoots)
The first electric project we did, and decided to keep. ‘Frida’ is an ongoing test bed for new ideas and technology as well as for test drives and even daily rentals.
Peter’s 1971 Doka has undergone a full restoration and was an exciting project for us. He uses the van as his daily driver on his farm.
