A new Australian electric vehicle company says it will start production next year.

Start-up company ACE EV has signed an agreement with Adelaide's Aldom Motor Body Builders to assemble electric commercial vehicles - up to 15,000 vans, utes and cars a year by 2025.

“They are going to be assembling and building the very first light commercial electric vehicles in Australia,” ACE EV director Greg McGarvie said.

Around half of the parts will be made in South Australia, with the rest imported mostly from China.

Mr McGarvie said Adelaide has an appetite for new technology.

“Adelaide has got a history of auto and there are a lot of supply chain opportunities that will support our manufacturing of electric vehicles,” he said.

The company has received no funding from the state or federal governments, but says orders are coming in and full-scale assembly will begin in Adelaide in 2020.

“We're taking orders now, there's only 100 vehicles available for 2019 and Aldom will be manufacturing the first quarter 2020, so next year,” Mr McGarvie said.

“We're hoping that we'll get up to 15,000 [built] a year.

“Of that 15,000 we would expect around 80 per cent will be export.”

Aldom currently builds custom parts for trucks and other vehicles at factory in Wingfield, but its managing director Mark Haig said the new venture would fit in well.

“Once I saw how the car went together, I knew with the experience I've got here — with the body builders, our electricians, our hydraulic people, our engineer people we already use in our trade every day — they'll be able to adapt across to this quite easily and assemble the car,” Mr Haig said.

“We'll be looking at building the first few out of our premises here in Wingfield and then what we'll do is we'll move to a purpose-built factory to be able to produce the numbers once the orders come.”