US & Chinese Companies Team Up To Build 5-Passenger, All-Electric EV Assembled In US
Here’s an interesting announcement from Shanghai, but partly from a US EV company. Like with CODA, the effort seems to target delivering a relatively cheap and “somewhat made in America” all-electric car. But the question is whether or not it will be able to compete with the very low-cost Nissan Leaf and the hotter than hot Tesla brand (which plans to unroll an affordable EV within a few years), as well as CODA (which hasn’t had the best luck in sales). Here’s the full GreenTech Automotive press release:
Image Credit: Greentech Automotive
April 22, 2013 Shanghai, PRC — GreenTech Automotive, an American manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, and JAC Motors, a leading Chinese automotive manufacture, today announced a strategic partnership that will include the development of a five-passenger, all-electric sedan to be assembled in the United States.
The sedan will combine JAC’s award-winning Rejoice vehicle platform with GTA’s advanced electric powertrain and battery management system. The sedan will feature a 19kwh battery with a range of over 100 miles on a single charge and a charge time of 6-8 hours. GTA will assemble the vehicles in its Horn Lake, Miss., facility for distribution in North America exclusively beginning in late-2013. After a pilot assembly of 2,000 vehicles, GTA plans to establish another assembly facility for the sedan and expects to create 200 additional jobs in the United States.
“JAC is recognized worldwide for the caliber and quality of its manufacturing. GTA’s innovative electric powertrain is a perfect fit for JAC’s EV platform, which has won numerous national awards in China,” said Charles Wang, Chairman and CEO, GreenTech Automotive. “Our meetings clearly revealed that there was good synergy between the JAC platforms and our technology and both companies immediately understood that a strategic partnership is in each company’s best interest.”
Executives from both companies began high-level strategic meetings in 2012, including multiple visits to each other’s assembly facilities and in-depth technical reviews and marketing planning discussions. The agreement was finalized in March and announced at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition.
“The GTA partnership is of great significance to JAC,” said Jing An, chairman and CEO, JAC. “GTA has quickly proven its adeptness with a proven advanced technology and expertise as an EV developer with a growing distribution network. We believe this partnership represents a win-win for both our companies.”
“The five-passenger sedan is a natural complement to our two-passenger MyCar product line,” said Marianne McInerney, executive vice president, sales and marketing, GTA. “The MyCar, which offers consumers a fun, affordable driving experience, is already seeing strong response, achieving distribution agreements for the sale of more than 30,000 units over the next three years. The JAC-GTA partnership allows us to expand our product line-up with a sedan and allows us to offer the GTA technology with great amenities and room for five passengers while adhering to our philosophy of being price competitive.”
Don't forget to follow EV Obsession on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and/or RSS! Do it for electricity!
About the Author
Zach is the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular cleantech-focused website in the world, and Planetsave, a world-leading green and science news site. He has been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and he has been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, and wind energy since 2009. Aside from his work on CleanTechnica and Planetsave, he's the founder and director of Solar Love, EV Obsession, and Bikocity. To connect with Zach on some of your favorite social networks, go to ZacharyShahan.com and click on the relevant buttons.
Related Posts
Nissan LEAF Breaks November EV Sales Record →
Europe Nissan LEAF Sales vs US Nissan LEAF Sales →
Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, & BMW i3 Dominate Plug-in Car Sales in October →
