Edd China did not disappear after leaving Wheeler Dealers. He moved toward independent online production and engineering: he tested Garage Revival, built a record-setting electric ice-cream van, launched Workshop Diaries, published a memoir, and developed the Grease Junkie brand.
Leaving Wheeler Dealers did not end Edd China’s career. Since announcing his departure in March 2017, he has concentrated on independent online production, ambitious engineering projects, long-form workshop explanations, publishing, and the Grease Junkie brand.
The clearest answer to “what happened to Edd China?” is that he stopped relying on a mainstream motoring programme as his main outlet. He tested a new television concept, built a record-setting electric ice-cream van, created Edd China’s Workshop Diaries, published a memoir, and continued developing products and projects through his own websites. There is no reliable evidence in the supplied current research that he has returned to a new mainstream television series or resumed working with Mike Brewer on Wheeler Dealers.
Why did Edd China leave Wheeler Dealers?
China announced his departure at the end of March 2017, after 13 seasons. In the departure statement reproduced in his official FAQ, he described the issue as a disagreement about the programme’s direction and, specifically, how much workshop detail and technical information would remain in each episode.
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That distinction matters. China’s own explanation supports describing the split as a creative and editorial disagreement—not as a personal feud with Mike Brewer. He thanked the production team and wished the incoming mechanic, Ant Anstead, well. He also said he planned to pursue new shows and expand his YouTube work.
In practical terms, China wanted more room for the mechanical reasoning behind a repair: what had failed, how to diagnose it, which solution to choose, and how the work was carried out. After leaving, he had greater control over that level of detail.
Garage Revival was his first post-show experiment
China’s first significant post-Wheeler Dealers television and online concept was Edd China’s Garage Revival. A 2018 pilot, covered by ClassicCars.com, followed a different format from Wheeler Dealers.
Rather than buying a vehicle with Brewer and preparing it for resale, China travelled to owners whose classic-car projects had stalled. The pilot focused on a Norwegian owner’s first-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI. The work included the project’s 16-valve engine-conversion plans, braking, bodywork, interior completion, and the final steps needed to make the car usable again.
The pilot showed the direction China was exploring: helping owners finish difficult projects while spending more time on the actual engineering. However, the available evidence does not establish that Garage Revival became a continuing broadcast series. It is best understood as an early transitional project rather than a long-running replacement for Wheeler Dealers.
The electric ice-cream van became his defining engineering project
China’s most ambitious post-show build was a diesel-to-electric conversion of a Mercedes Sprinter ice-cream van. It began as an attempt to create the world’s fastest electric ice-cream van, but the engineering objective grew more practical: reduce the emissions, heat, noise, and wasted fuel associated with running a diesel engine while the vehicle is stationary and selling ice cream.
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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 adaptor plates, with an inverter and controller managing the drivetrain. China also built a 360-volt battery pack from recycled electric-vehicle cells and developed a custom battery-management system.
The project was not limited to propulsion. The ice-cream refrigeration equipment also needed to operate without the inefficient arrangement the conversion was designed to replace. China described an electrically driven refrigeration conversion cassette intended to make existing vans easier to retrofit. Historical project material referred to pre-orders and planned production, but the available research does not verify that the cassette is still manufactured, sold, or supported in 2026. It should therefore be treated as a historical development plan, not a currently available product.
The vehicle did achieve the headline result. Guinness World Records confirms that China’s electric ice-cream van reached 118.964 km/h, or 73.921 mph, at Elvington Airfield in March 2020. Guinness also independently identifies the starting vehicle as a Mercedes Sprinter and connects the project with concerns about emissions from traditional ice-cream vans.
The van illustrates why “he became a YouTuber” is an incomplete description of China’s career after Wheeler Dealers. The project combined mechanical adaptation, electrical engineering, battery integration, packaging, vehicle use-case analysis, and public explanation—the same inventive, hands-on identity that made him distinctive on television.
Workshop Diaries became his main independent platform
China’s most important continuing media project is Edd China’s Workshop Diaries, a YouTube-based series produced around his workshop in Buckinghamshire.
The official site describes a deliberately broad range of work: classic cars, amphibious vehicles, tractors, motorcycles, aeroplanes, and other mechanical projects. The emphasis is on practical workshop activity, detailed fixes, old and new technologies, and the decisions involved in getting unusual machines working.
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The launch video also presented the channel as more flexible than a conventional television series. It would contain full episodes and shorter clips, answer automotive questions, respond to viewer feedback, and follow projects according to what the workshop and audience made useful. The production identified support from Patreon supporters and commercial partners.
Grease Junkie’s Workshop Diaries page continues to direct visitors to the show and describes projects ranging from boats to Land Rovers and other vehicles. That makes Workshop Diaries the strongest evidence of China’s ongoing public work after leaving television.
There is an important qualification: the original launch material discussed weekly output, but the research available here does not establish a reliable current upload schedule or verify the latest episode as of August 12, 2026. It is safe to say that Workshop Diaries is his principal independent video outlet; it is not safe to promise that new episodes still appear every week.
He turned the Edd China identity into a book and workshop brand
China also published Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts. Penguin Random House lists paperback, ebook, and audio editions and identifies the memoir as a Sunday Times bestseller. The book combines engineering adventures, unusual vehicles, and behind-the-scenes material from Wheeler Dealers.
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That brand is centred on EddChina.com and Grease Junkie. The sites connect China’s public identity with an online shop offering tools, parts, workshop equipment, and merchandise. Current categories include Sealey products, WOSP electrical components, brake and clutch parts, and other automotive equipment.
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One especially recognisable item is the Grease Junkie extra-length orange nitrile glove. The official product page describes a long cuff, double-dipped nitrile construction, chemical resistance, and textured fingertips—the style associated with China’s Wheeler Dealers appearance. The page retrieved for this research marked the gloves as sold out, so their availability should not be assumed.
How has he supported the independent workshop operation?
The evidence points to a mixed model rather than one replacement employer or one single source of income. Workshop Diaries was presented as combining:
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- Patreon support from viewers;
- merchandise, tools, and parts sold through Grease Junkie;
- book sales;
- commercial sponsorships and brand partnerships.
The launch material identified Milwaukee Tools and RWC among the commercial partners and invited companies with relevant products or processes to contact the production team. In May 2021, Ansell announced that it had become the official PPE partner for Workshop Diaries, with automotive gloves including MICROFLEX products appearing in connection with the content and links to online retailers such as Amazon.
That announcement documents a historical partnership, not necessarily a current one. The available research does not verify which of Ansell, Milwaukee, RWC, or other named partners remain active in 2026, nor does it establish current affiliate rates, tracking arrangements, or sponsorship terms.
For someone setting up a home garage after watching Workshop Diaries, the sensible takeaway is task-based rather than celebrity-based: choose appropriate automotive PPE, chemical-resistant gloves, eye protection, and tools suited to the repair. A product’s appearance in a historical programme or partnership announcement does not by itself prove that China currently recommends that exact product.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.His broader identity is still inventor and builder
China’s official biography describes him as an inventor, designer, engineer, car builder, and presenter. It highlights earlier creations such as the road-legal Casual Lofa sofa car and a motorised office, alongside his continuing interest in combining ideas that would not normally be put together.
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That background explains the variety of his post-show work. The electric ice-cream van was not an isolated publicity stunt, and Workshop Diaries is not merely a conventional car-repair channel. Both fit a consistent pattern: take an impractical, unusual, or technically awkward idea; understand the constraints; fabricate or adapt the necessary parts; and show the reasoning as well as the finished machine.
What Edd China is not confirmed to be doing
Several common claims go beyond the available evidence:
- No confirmed new mainstream TV return: the research does not provide a sufficiently current source proving that China has returned to a new mainstream television series after Workshop Diaries.
- No confirmed current ice-cream-van kit: historical plans for a retrofit cassette do not establish that it is currently sold or supported.
- No confirmed current sponsors: past announcements involving Ansell, Milwaukee, RWC, or other partners should not be presented as proof of active 2026 sponsorships.
- No verified weekly schedule: the channel’s launch plans do not prove a current weekly upload pattern or identify the latest episode as of August 12, 2026.
- No evidence of a return to Wheeler Dealers: nothing in the supplied research supports saying that China has resumed working with Mike Brewer on the programme.
So the accurate picture is not that Edd China vanished after quitting Wheeler Dealers. He moved from a large established television format to a more independent workshop ecosystem—one that lets him spend more time on engineering detail, unusual vehicles, audience questions, products, and projects such as the electric ice-cream van.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Edd China leave Wheeler Dealers?
Edd China said he left because of a disagreement over the programme’s creative direction and how much technical workshop detail would remain in each episode. His statement does not support describing the departure as a personal feud with Mike Brewer.
What is Edd China doing now?
His main continuing independent media project is Edd China’s Workshop Diaries, a YouTube-based series filmed around his Buckinghamshire workshop. Its projects include classic cars, amphibious vehicles, tractors, bikes, planes, boats, and Land Rovers.
Did Edd China’s electric ice-cream van break a record?
Yes. Guinness World Records says the converted Mercedes Sprinter reached 118.964 km/h, or 73.921 mph, at Elvington Airfield in March 2020.
Has Edd China returned to television?
No current return to Wheeler Dealers is established by the available research. There is also no sufficiently current evidence confirming a new mainstream television series after Workshop Diaries.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Edd China left Wheeler Dealers because he said its creative direction no longer allowed the level of technical workshop detail he wanted. Since then, he has pursued Garage Revival, built a Guinness-record electric ice-cream van, made Workshop Diaries his main independent video platform, published Grease Junkie, and developed the Grease Junkie brand. A new mainstream TV series or a current return to Wheeler Dealers is not confirmed.
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