A new electric vehicle (EV) maker unveiled its first car last week, and this one is led by an unusual entreprenuer – a former Democratic National Committee Chairman, who says his goal is to bring manufacturing back to the US.
That’s Terry McAuliffe, who also chaired Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and fundraised for President Bill Clinton.
His company is GreenTech Automotive and its first car is MyCar, a low-speed, two-seater.
A Danish distributer, Greenabout A/S, has agreed to buy thousands of cars, a sizeable percentage of its near-term production, and at least 20 Domino’s Pizza franchise owners will be the first customers in the US.
MyCar, authorized to travel at top speeds of 25 miles per hour on US roads (45 miles per hour in Europe), classifies as a "neighborhood electric vehicle" that’s restricted from highway use. It travels up to 115 miles per charge depending on the battery used and carries a base price of $15,000.
Like the failed Th!nk car preceding it, MyCar is targeting companies with delivery fleets, rental car companies, government agencies, and corporate and college campuses.
GreenTech Automotive plans to build 10,000 vehicles during its first production year, and then launch a micro pick-up and delivery vehicle in 2013 and a larger vehicle in 2014.
"Many electric carmakers have tried to force electric vehicle technology into the existing transportation paradigm, which invariably results in vehicles that are environmentally friendly but prohibitively expensive," says Charles Wang, CEO and co-founder of GreenTech Automotive.
GreenTech Automotive purchased Hong Kong-based EuAuto in 2010 and relocated operations and manufacturing to the US to
"create jobs here and have a positive impact on a local economy in need of revitalization."
MyCar is being made at a leased plant in Mississippi, while its 300,000-square-foot factory there is under contruction. The state has been wooing green manufacturers.
Greentech employs almost 900 people and its operations could support over 7,400 direct and indirect jobs by 2014, according to an independent analysis.
"Too many people have given up on American manufacturing, saying manufacturing jobs are not coming back. But GTA set out to prove them wrong," says McAuliffe. "For too long, America has been inventing products here and sending the production jobs overseas. But we’re part of a rebirth for American manufacturing."
More information on the MyCar design:
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