Ramon Alvarez, who owns Lincoln and Jaguar dealerships, is planning to offer a range of  small electric vehicles through dealerships in Southern California in the near future. Through his company Alvarez Electric Motors Co., he will be importing vehicles produced by Liuzhou Wuling Special Purpose Vehicle Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in China and selling them through authorized EcoCentre franchisees. The first EcoCentre will be opened next month in Irvine by the Fladeboe Automotive Group, which consists of Honda, Volkswagen, GMC, Buick and Code franchises.  Other dealers are planning on opening EcoCentres in Riverside, San Bernardino, Glendale, Canoga Park and San Jose.

The first shipment of 42 vehicles was scheduled to arrive this week.  The model lineup includes two-seater Eco-E Commuter Car, listed for $9,995, the EcoTruck for $16,995 and the EcoVan for $17,995.  All the vehicles are LSVs with a range of 30-40 miles.  The target users for the vehicles include new drivers, Metrolink commuters and commercial users such as golf courses, airports, military bases, shuttle vans, food deliveries, landscaping companies and government fleets. Learn more:  PE.com