Category Archives: Facilities

Korean Manufacturer Offers New LSV

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CT&T, a Korea based electric vehicle manufacturer, has developed the e-Zone EV low speed vehicle (LSV).

The vehicle comes with a 72 volt electric motor which can be powered by one of three battery pack options, flooded lead acid with a range of 35 miles or two different lithium ion packs with ranges of 45 and 75 miles. The company is establishing an assembly plant in Fiji which will be able to produce up to 10,000 vehicles annually. For North America, CT&T reports it is building an assembly line in conjunction with Royal Laser Mfg. in Toronto, Canada with an annual capacity of up to 15,000 vehicles and a projected start date in March 2009.

In the US the vehicle will be marketed as the CT Series Micro Car by T3 Motion. The company is targeting the public safety and private security markets and has contracted for 4,000 vehicles from CT&T. The deal is reported to be worth $50 million or about $12,500 per vehicle. The company reports orders for 100 vehicles already.

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Kentucky Venture Gets ZAPped

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According to a number of reports(Lexington Herald-Leader, earth2tech, autobloggreen), the plans to build ZAP vehicles in Kentucky through a joint venture with Integrity Manufacturing have come to a halt. The company’s CEO Randy Waldman points to the loss of potential investor GE Capital as the primary reason. Apparently GE Capital was to provide $125 million in funding through a sale of bonds (although the Earth2tech story disputes this) but has pulled out of the deal. Integrity Manufacturing is now trying to find money in a $200 billion Department of Energy fund targeting energy projects. An alternative being mentioned by management is to convince another state to provide funding or a manufacturing facility.

Growing Market Still Attracting New Market Entrants

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Electrovaya enters vehicle arena – Electrovaya which develops lithium ion batteries announced it will be producing their own electric vehicle, a two-seater with top speed ranging from 25-45 and a range up to 120 miles. It will be called the Maya-300. The company states that the vehicle could be ready for market by later this year. The initial target market is fleets and the price point is expected to be in the $20,000 to $25,000 range with a longer term price target of under $20,000.

Philadelphia steel wholesaler Barry D. Bernsten has formed BG Automotive Group for the purpose of producing electric vehicles. Plans call form importing 4,000 cars from Asia and installing batteries and electric motors in them at a local assembly plant. The initial vehicles will be low-speed vehicles with plans to upgrade the vehicles the following year to highway-ready vehicles. The initial retail price is expected to be $16,000. Targeting urban commuters, students and vacation homeowners.

Kentucky Moves Quickly To Lure Electric Vehicle Production

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According to various news reports, ZAP and their partner Integrity Automotive announced that initial construction has started on a facility in Franklin, Kentucky for the production of electric vehicles. ZAP is a minority stakeholder in the venture. Randall Waldman, Integrity’s CEO expects production at the one million square foot facility to start in approximately one year with a work force of 1,250. While plans are still in the development stage, Integrity management states that the plant will make electric buses in addition to ZAP’s product line. A possible scenario is to have the facility replace all of the production from ZAP’s China facility. Management cited the logistics expense of shipping vehicles from China to California to the East Coast as a factor in building the facility. ZAP had previously made vehicles in the US but lower labor costs in China made manufacturing overseas more cost effective. Government incentives are making US based manufacturing more feasible.

Integrity Automotive is reportedly investing $125 million in the facility and quickly garnered government assistance which came from all levels including:

  • $84 million of tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds for construction of the plant from city an county governments
  • $48 million in tax incentives from the state based on the company’s commitment to create 4,000 full-time jobs within the first four years
  • An executive order from Kentucky’s governor permitting the use of low-speed vehicles on Kentucky highways with a posted speed limit of 45 miles-per-hour or less.

While the production will serve the global market, in some respects, the shifting of production from China to the US is a reversal of the globalization trend I have been seeing in the market in general. I followed up the story with a call to ZAP to understand more about the situation. According to ZAP, the venture came together very quickly and the details of what vehicles will be produced and how many are still being worked out. Like some other electric vehicle manufacturers ZAP is reporting strong sales increases. In the quarter ending September 30th, 240 vehicles were sold including 121 in September compared to just 80 vehicles in the 3rd quarter last year. Most of the vehicles are sold in the US to consumers as well as some municipalities and are primarily the Xebra truck model. The company has increased their headcount by 30% this year and recently opened up a $10 million line of credit to fund expansion. The company is also planning on adding an NEV to their product line.