Within weeks of capturing victory in the Automotive X-Prize’s Alternative Class-Tandem, Peraves and its electric motor supplier, AC Propulsion, announced the signing of a letter of intent to assemble up to 100 of the ultra-efficient E-Tracer motorcycles at a facility in Dimas, CA beginning next year. This order, along with others streaming in from automakers around the world, has pushed AC Propulsion’s production capacity to its limit.
In response to the growing demand, AC Propulsion announced that it will expand output by constructing a new electric drive manufacturing facility in Beijing, China. The move is part of a broader plan to increase the company’s reach and will more than double AC Propulsions’ production capacity in the Asian country. Tom Gage, chief executive officer of AC Propulsion, explains the need for expansion like this:
Our order book is overflowing, so we’re expanding to meet future demand. We are gratified to be participating in the vast growth of the Chinese electric vehicle market and expect to have the first AC Propulsion-powered vehicles on the road in China in 2011.
AC Propulsion currently owns a manufacturing facility in Shanghai, where it produces electric drive systems for customers across the globe.
PRESS RELEASE
AC PROPULSION EXPANDS ITS MANUFACTURING CAPACITY IN CHINA TO MEET GLOBAL DEMAND FOR ITS ELECTRIC DRIVE SYSTEMS
– First Employees Hired For Production Space in Beijing –
LOS ANGELES (December 2, 2010) – AC Propulsion, a global leader in electric drive development, design and manufacturing, today announced that it is expanding its production capacity and upgrading manufacturing processes with a new facility in Beijing. The move, part of a broader global expansion, is the first step in a major expansion in China and far more than doubles the company’s manufacturing space in the country, where it now makes electric drive systems at its manufacturing facility in Shanghai.
“Our order book is overflowing, so we’re expanding to meet future demand,” said AC Propulsion CEO Tom Gage. “We are gratified to be participating in the vast growth of the Chinese electric vehicle market and expect to have the first AC Propulsion-powered vehicles on the road in China in 2011.”
The new Beijing manufacturing facility, which substantially more than doubles the company’s facility space in China, will produce electric drive systems for a range of automobile companies and vehicle converters selling in China and globally. AC Propulsion received incentives and other inducements to build the facility from the Beijing government, part of a China-wide program to promote the production and use of hybrid and electric cars in China over the next decade. China is committing more than $15 billion to this initiative.
A marketing staff has already been hired for AC Propulsion’s new Beijing facility. Much of the plant’s manufacturing equipment will be produced and shipped from the company’s U.S. headquarters in San Dimas, Calif. Production and other employees will be hired over the next several months. Further expansion in Beijing is planned.
AC Propulsion employs 50 workers in its Shanghai office, where it manufactures electric drive systems for AC Propulsion customers around the world.
About AC Propulsion: AC Propulsion is a global leader in the development, design and manufacture of electric vehicle technology. AC Propulsion’s proprietary tzero™ technology is a complete solution for electric vehicles, and can be customized for every class of electric vehicle, from a sports car to an SUV to an 8-ton city bus. AC Propulsion is also a leader in the development of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) capable vehicles, as well as the research and development of V2G technology.
