Edd China did not disappear after leaving Wheeler Dealers. He redirected his career toward independent workshop video, ambitious engineering projects, publishing, and the Grease Junkie automotive brand—with the electric ice-cream van and Workshop Diaries becoming the clearest signs of what came next.
The short answer is that Edd China did not vanish after leaving Wheeler Dealers. Since his departure in 2017, he has pursued the kind of work that made him distinctive on the show: detailed workshop projects, unusual vehicle engineering, electrification, independent video production, publishing, and a direct-to-consumer automotive brand.
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His main continuing outlet is Edd China’s Workshop Diaries, an independently produced online series built around his workshop in Buckinghamshire. Alongside it, he has developed the Grease Junkie brand, worked on projects such as a record-setting electric ice-cream van, and published his memoir, Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts.
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China announced his departure at the end of March 2017, after 13 seasons of Wheeler Dealers. According to the departure statement reproduced in his official FAQ, the reason was a disagreement about the program’s creative direction—specifically, how much workshop detail and technical information would remain in each episode.
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That distinction matters. The available on-record explanation supports saying that China felt the show was moving away from the detailed mechanical content he wanted to make. It does not support presenting the split as a personal feud with Mike Brewer or claiming that the two stopped working together because of an unverified dispute.
In the same statement, China thanked the production team, wished replacement mechanic Ant Anstead well, and said he intended to pursue new shows while expanding his YouTube output. In other words, leaving television was not presented as the end of his career. It was a decision to pursue a different format and more control over the technical material.
Garage Revival tested a different format
One of China’s first post-show projects was Edd China’s Garage Revival, a 2018 pilot published on YouTube. Instead of buying a vehicle, repairing it, and selling it—as the familiar Wheeler Dealers structure often required—the concept focused on owners whose classic-car projects had stalled.
The pilot followed a Norwegian owner and a first-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI. The work included an intended 16-valve engine conversion, braking improvements, bodywork, interior completion, and the broader task of turning an unfinished project back into a usable car.
The idea showed the direction China was exploring immediately after Wheeler Dealers: helping owners solve complicated projects while spending more time on the reasoning and practical work. However, the available evidence confirms the pilot, not a continuing broadcast series. It is therefore more accurate to describe Garage Revival as an early post-show concept than as an established long-running program.
His electric ice-cream van became a major engineering project
China’s most ambitious post-Wheeler Dealers build was the conversion of a Mercedes Sprinter ice-cream van from diesel to electric drive. The project began with a headline-grabbing goal: creating the world’s fastest electric ice-cream van. It then developed into a more practical engineering exercise focused on the problems caused by traditional diesel-powered ice-cream vans.
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A conventional van may spend long periods stationary while its engine runs to power refrigeration and other equipment. That creates noise, heat, fuel consumption, and local emissions around customers. China’s project attempted to address those issues as well as making the vehicle faster.
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How the electric drivetrain was built
According to China’s official project account, the conversion retained the Sprinter’s original gearbox. A used 80-kilowatt electric motor was connected to it through custom-made adaptor plates, with an inverter and controller managing the motor. The van’s 360-volt battery pack was assembled from recycled electric-vehicle cells and used a custom battery-management system.
The project also involved the refrigeration system. China described an electrically driven conversion cassette intended to allow the ice-cream equipment to operate without keeping a diesel engine running. Historical project material discussed pre-orders and an intention to produce retrofit systems for existing vans, but that does not establish that the cassette is still manufactured, sold, or supported. Its current commercial availability should not be assumed.
The verified speed record
The performance side of the project was independently confirmed by Guinness World Records. In March 2020, at Elvington Airfield, the electric ice-cream van reached 118.964 km/h (73.921 mph), making it the fastest electric ice-cream van according to Guinness’s record account. Guinness also identified the vehicle as a Mercedes Sprinter and noted the emissions-related motivation behind the conversion.
The van illustrates why “Edd China became a YouTuber” is an incomplete description of his post-show career. Online video is the distribution method, but the underlying work remains engineering: packaging a drivetrain, adapting existing components, designing control systems, managing high-voltage batteries, and rethinking an unusual vehicle’s whole operating system.
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China’s most important continuing media project is Workshop Diaries, a YouTube-based series produced around his personal workshop in Buckinghamshire. The official site describes a broad mix of practical workshop work, detailed repairs, old and new technology, and projects involving classic cars, amphibious vehicles, tractors, motorcycles, and aircraft.
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The format gives China more room than a conventional television slot to show the intermediate steps: diagnosing a fault, explaining why a component is being changed, fabricating a part, adapting an unconventional solution, or dealing with a repair that does not work the first time. The launch material also described full episodes and shorter clips, answers to automotive questions, and projects shaped partly by viewer questions and feedback.
The show was initially presented as a weekly production, supported by Patreon backers and commercial partners. However, the available sources do not establish a reliable current upload schedule or a verified latest episode date as of August 12, 2026. The safe conclusion is that Workshop Diaries is China’s principal independent video outlet—not that it necessarily follows the original promised release frequency.
The current Grease Junkie Workshop Diaries page continues to direct viewers to the series and describes the project range as extending from boats to Land Rovers and other vehicles. That broader range is consistent with China’s long-standing interest in solving engineering problems that do not fit neatly into ordinary car-show categories.
He turned the audience into a publishing and retail business
China also expanded the commercial side of his work. His memoir, Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts, combines engineering adventures, unusual vehicles, and behind-the-scenes material from Wheeler Dealers. Penguin Random House lists paperback, ebook, and audio editions and identifies it as a Sunday Times bestseller.
For readers who want the story in a form they can keep rather than watch in installments, Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts is the most direct companion to China’s career. It connects the television years with the inventor and builder behind them, rather than treating Wheeler Dealers as the whole story.
His online properties are centered on EddChina.com and Grease Junkie. The latter describes itself as an emporium for tools, parts, and merchandise. Its listed categories have included workshop tools, Sealey products, WOSP electrical components, brake and clutch parts, and other automotive equipment.
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One recognizable item is the Grease Junkie extra-length orange nitrile glove associated with China’s Wheeler Dealers appearance. The official product description specifies a long cuff, double-dipped nitrile construction, chemical resistance, and textured fingertips. The product page retrieved for this research marked the gloves as sold out, so their availability should not be promised. More generally, anyone copying the workshop look should choose gloves according to the chemical, mechanical, heat, and electrical hazards involved—not simply by color or association with a television presenter.
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The evidence points to a blended model rather than one replacement television contract:
- Independent video: YouTube provides the main distribution channel for Workshop Diaries and related clips.
- Audience support: The launch material referred to Patreon support for production.
- Sponsorship and partnerships: Early Workshop Diaries material named Milwaukee Tools and RWC among commercial partners and invited relevant companies to contact the production team.
- Direct sales: Grease Junkie sells or has sold tools, parts, clothing, workshop merchandise, and other products.
- Publishing: The memoir adds book, ebook, and audio editions to the business.
Ansell announced in May 2021 that it had become the official PPE partner for Workshop Diaries. The announcement connected the partnership with automotive gloves, including MICROFLEX products, and mentioned online retail links such as Amazon. That is evidence of a historical partnership, not proof that Ansell remains the current official PPE partner in 2026. The same caution applies to Milwaukee, RWC, and other named partners: past association should not be rewritten as a current sponsorship without a current announcement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.China’s engineering identity predates and outlasts the show
China’s official biography describes him as an inventor, designer, engineer, car builder, and presenter. It also lists earlier creations such as the Casual Lofa sofa car and a road-legal office, alongside other motorized furniture and unusual vehicles.
Those projects explain the continuity between his television career and his current work. The appeal was never only that he could repair an ordinary car. It was that he could connect ideas from different fields, fabricate solutions, make unfamiliar machinery usable, and explain the process in an entertaining way.
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After leaving Wheeler Dealers, he has applied that same identity to electric-vehicle engineering, restoration, workshop education, unusual machines, online production, and branded products. The camera moved from a conventional television production to a channel he could shape more directly, but the subject remained hands-on problem-solving.
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Has Edd China returned to mainstream television?
There is not enough current evidence to say that China has returned with a new mainstream television series after Workshop Diaries. His 2017 departure statement referred to pursuing new shows, and historical projects such as Garage Revival demonstrated that television concepts remained possible. But those statements and pilots are not confirmation of a current broadcast series.
There is also no evidence in the supplied research that he has resumed working with Mike Brewer on Wheeler Dealers. The confirmed post-show story is more straightforward: China left because he objected to the direction of the workshop content, then built an independent ecosystem around the detailed engineering and vehicle projects he wanted to make.
What Edd China has been doing, in one sentence
Since quitting Wheeler Dealers, Edd China has been doing more of the work that viewers originally came to see him for—designing, repairing, converting, and explaining unusual vehicles—while using Workshop Diaries, Grease Junkie, his memoir, and direct online production to do it on his own terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Edd China leave Wheeler Dealers?
Edd China said he left because he disagreed with the direction of Wheeler Dealers and how much detailed workshop and technical information would remain in the episodes. There is no reliable basis in the supplied evidence for describing the departure as a personal feud with Mike Brewer.
What is Edd China doing now?
His main independent media project is Edd China’s Workshop Diaries, a YouTube-based series filmed around his workshop in Buckinghamshire. It covers repairs, restorations, fabrication, unusual vehicles, electrification, and answers to automotive questions.
Did Edd China really build the world’s fastest electric ice-cream van?
Yes. In March 2020, the converted Mercedes Sprinter reached 118.964 km/h (73.921 mph) at Elvington Airfield. Guinness World Records recognizes it as the fastest electric ice-cream van.
Has Edd China returned to television?
The supplied research does not verify a current broadcast television series or a return to Wheeler Dealers. China has continued producing independent online content, but a television comeback should not be stated as fact without newer confirmation.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Edd China did not disappear after Wheeler Dealers. He moved from a traditional car-show format into independent workshop video, engineering projects, publishing, and the Grease Junkie business. His electric ice-cream van’s verified 73.921-mph record is the clearest symbol of that transition, while Workshop Diaries remains the central platform for his continuing work. Claims about a current television comeback, active historical sponsors, or ongoing sale of the ice-cream-van conversion kit remain unconfirmed.
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