Ev Manufacturer Barefoot Motors To Close Doors

Barefoot Motors a manufacturer of electric utility vehicles based in Ashland, OR announced that they will be closing their doors by the end of the year.  According to a statement from CEO Mary Gresens,

Due to a critical interruption in our supply chain which has resulted in a review of our business model, Barefoot Motors LLC will no longer produce and offer the present products. The facility in Ashland is being ramped down and will be closed by the end of the year.

Learn more:  Barefootmotors.com

This is the second company this year in the STOV market that has closed their doors.  Earlier in the summer BG Automotive Group which had plans to build an LSV and then full-size electric vehicles also closed.  Learn more:  Green.autoblog.com

CT&T Announces Manufacturing & Distribution Approach To US Market

CT&T, manufacturer of the eZone NEV, recently announced their Regional Assembly and Sales System (RASS) approach for selling electric vehicles in the US.  RASS will utilize multiple assembly plants, each located near key electric vehicle markets.  Vehicles will be  assembled using parts sourced by CT&T.  Retail networks will be developed by each RASS for their designated region.  Each RASS is expected to cost between $8-$10 million to create according to management.  Learn more:  www.prweb.com

Comment: BG Automotive has also talked about building multiple assembly plants near key markets but has not mentioned separate retail networks as well. They are also still looking for funding to carry this out. – mc

BG Automotive Looking In Windsor, Ontario For Facilities

BG Automotive C100 NEV

BG Automotive is now looking in Windsor, Ontario for facilities to assemble their NEV, the C100.  According to the report, if funding can arranged, the company believes they can be producing vehicles within three months.  Windsor has an existing automotive manufacturing base and skilled workforce that appeals to the company.

As noted in a previous post, the company plans to develop six facilities around the country which can each produce up to 15,000 vehicles.  Other states being considered include Connecticut, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Georgia and Massachusetts.  Learn more  Windsorstar.com

BG Automotive Shows Off Prototype Electric Vehicle

BG Automotive C100 Prototype Photos: Clifford Atiyeh/Boston Globe

BG Automotive recently showed a prototype of their C100 NEV to Massachusetts officials in hopes of generating financial support for production facilities in the state. They are also looking to obtain funding from the US Department of Energy.

The C100 features a 48 volt, 18 hp electric motor powered by eight lead acid batteries and has a range of 60-80 miles according to the company. Except for the controller, motor and batteries which are produced in the US, the rest of the vehicle’s parts are produced in China. Price range will be $16,000 to $18,000.

A Boston Globe reporter took the vehicle for a parking lot test drive and had a mixed review.

Pros:

• Decent economy car
• Good seat position
• Some nice features

Cons:

• Noise
• Slow acceleration
• Poor braking

The company still expects to make a May/June 2009 launch date despite not having any facilities in place. Learn more: Boston Globe Article

Update 3/23:  The article is updated to note that the vehicle is actually the Chang’an Ben Ben or Chana Benni produced in China.

BG Autmotive Looking For Manufacturing Sites

A local news story reports that Philadelphia based BG Automotive is looking for manufacturing sites in the Boston area including Bridgewater, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford. The facility will be for mass production of their C100 neighborhood electric vehicle and employ about 150 people per shift. The company is looking for a site for a 60,000 – 100,000 square foot facility and is currently seeking funding.

Since the vehicle’s parts are imported and most of the activity at the facility would be assembly the company expects vehicle production could begin in as little as four months once a facility is found. The chassis and body of the vehicle are imported while components like the motor, controller and batteries are manufactured in the U.S. Delivery of the first vehicle is expected to be in April or May of 2009 according to the company’s website.

Another news source also states that

The company is planning to develop six facilities in the next 24 months for a total production of about 100,000 vehicles by year-end 2010.

I thought these latter figures were quite aggressive so I placed a call with BG Automotive and was able to speak with Barry Bernstein, the founder of the company.

He confirmed that the company is looking to develop six facilities with the ability to produce around 15,000 vehicles each annually. While our estimates of the LSV market size the market at less than 10,000 vehicles a year, Bernstein noted that interest in their vehicle has been higher than expected with over 44,000 people signing up on their website. No deposit is required to sign up initially but as the actual production date moves closer a deposit is required.

Bernstein also noted that the facilities will be designed to easily switch over to highway-speed electric vehicle production which is in the company’s long term plans. Besides Massachusetts, the Philadelphia based company is also looking to place facilities close to major LSV markets including California, Georgia, Texas, Northern Florida, Pennsylvania and the Tennessee – Kentucky area. They are applying for loan guarantees and other support from both federal and state agencies but will be able to scale down their facilities if they cannot garner this support. Bernstein expects to have more information on their site selection in about two weeks.

Growing Market Still Attracting New Market Entrants

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.

Globalization In The STOV Market

Since tracking this industry from 2000, there has been a trend towards increasing globalization and the following developments are more evidence of this trend.

Miles Electric Enters Benelux Market – Miles Electric signed their first international distribution agreement with AllGreenVehicles of the Netherlands which will distribute the vehicles in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

GEM & Tata Team Up On Mini-truck – GEM is working with TATA Motors to develop and market an electric version of the Tata’s Ace mini-trucki in the US. GEM is expected to fit the vehicles which will be delivered nearly fully built with an electric motor and controller. The Ace was launched in India in 2005 and has exceeded the company’s expectations. Sales for the vehicle marketed to small businesses are estimated to be around 130,000 annually with double digit growth. In a related note, The Economic Times reports that the Tata Ace mini-truck being developed with GEM is expected to cost upwards of $5,000 and the companies may consider doing a joint venture depending on the success of the Ace.

Start Of A New Dynasty – Karakoram Motors Ltd. of Karachi has agreed to buy the design and manufacturing operations of Delta, B.C.-based Dynasty Electric Car corp. the company was only producing 30-40 vehicles a year but the new owner is hoping to increase production to 5,000 and sell into the EU and US markets.

New Entrant Uses Asian Imports – New market entrant BG Automotive Group plans on importing cars from Asia and installing the batteries and motors here in the US.