This German start-up can convert your petrol car into an EV in as little as 8 hours

The cost of a brand-new electric car is frequently cited as one of the primary turn-offs for car owners looking to make greener, more sustainable choices.

But what if you could, instead of biting the bullet and forking out for a new electric vehicle (EV) you can ill afford, keep your current car and still go green?

Converting fossil fuel-guzzling vehicles into battery-powered ones is not a new concept, with the principle even being applied to vintage cars to make them fit for purpose in the modern, eco-conscious era.

The process, however, can be arduous, with existing companies quoting anywhere from two weeks to six months to carry out the required work on an internal combustion engine (ICE) car.

With a novel workflow and battery design, a start-up based in Germany now believes it can cut customer waiting times down to as little as eight hours.

Not only that, it can convert up to 42 different models from major car manufacturers - including the Volkswagen Golf and Polo, Audi A3, and Seat Leon - with a one-size-fits-all kit.

It might sound too good to be true for many people but the way e-Revolt has approached the conversion process has, from the start, arguably set it on a different trajectory from other companies in the field who are looking to scale up.

"It's a production. That means you have to think about how you can do it quicker and easier and so on. But this works only if you have a lot of volume, because you have to put in a lot of work and money upfront to develop all this," Rolf Behling, a managing director and technical lead at e-Revolt, told Euronews Next.

"Later on, you can save time and money. But that's the difference: you have to have a serious solution".

So, how does it work and why is the turnaround time so short