Kentucky Attracts Second EV Factory Effort With Global Green Cars' Bid
By John O'Dell July 14, 2009Company Also Says It's Signed With Chinese Supplier for SUV and Commuter Models
The Bluegrass State seems to be getting greener.
Closely held Global Green Cars, which plans to use a $24 million federal grant plus $15 million in assistance it already
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Illustration of commuter EV that Global Green Cars says it could have in market by end of year."
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has received from the state to help build an auto manufacturing plant in Williamsburg, Ky., says it has reached an agreement with a Chinese car maker that will let it triple its proposed lineup of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Global Green Cars has planned to introduce a self-built plug-in hybrid pickup truck by the end of the year; the Chinese pact will enable it to quickly add a battery-electric commuter car to the field, with a battery-electric SUV (below) to follow in about two years, said Brooks Agnew, president of the closely held company.
The unnamed car will start at $18,000 and will have a range of up to 125 miles, expandable to about 250 miles, he claimed, with an upgraded and more-expensive model.
Global Green Cars, whose minority owners include the publicly held biofuel maker Green Star Products, wants to build its auto plant by 2011.
The site is about 200 miles east of Franklin, Ky., where Integrity Manufacturing was said to be building a 1 million-square-foot EV factory to produce cars for electric-vehicle distributor Zap.
That plan unraveled in March but a new company, Zap Motor Manufacturing, reportedly is attempting to secure a federal grant for advanced technology vehicle development in order to move ahead with the factory.
If both Global and Zap Manufacturing are successful, Kentucky would wind up with two electric vehicle manufacturing plants while neighboring Tennessee would be home to the EV plant that Nissan North America is planning for its Smyrna, campus.
Global Green said that while it plans to build its proposed plug-in hybrid pickup (left), Chinese automaker Yema, based in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, would make the chassis for both the commuter car and the SUV, which would be completed at the proposed Kentucky plant.
Danny King, Contributor
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Funny. Their electric SUV looks a lot like a 2004 Subaru Forester.
Has Global Green Cars gotten this 24 M grant they are talking about or are they just speculating? Nothing at GSPI.PK indicates that they have received any monies from the government. Don't you think they would tell their shareholders first?
As for ZAP they have been speculating on getting money for years but with 5 Name changes, 4 filed BK
and a history of NEVER making a profit in 10 years in any quarter as a public company .What makes them even think they are a viable company to get Govt Money? Even if they did form a manufacturing group ZMMK under the parent company. They still have so much baggage & right now their current 10 Q lists them as a "going concern" by their own Accounting Firm. Don't think the government is approving those loans....
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