Electric car project to create 70 jobs
Barbara Wieland •
bwieland@lsj.com • January 17, 2009 • From Lansing State Journal
A Lansing-based electric car company startup will announce plans today to open a facility in Lansing and hire 70 people this year.
The company, EV Performance Warehouse Inc., plans to convert existing, gas-burning cars into purely electric-driven vehicles. Its first project will be to convert 2,000 fleet vehicles for various companies.
To accomplish that, the company will need technical workers such as engineers, electricians and lab technicians. Company President David Sterrett said the jobs will pay "above prevailing wage" but was not more specific. He said hiring is scheduled to begin before the end of June.
Sterrett said EV Performance is in the process of securing a building and workers could be converting cars to electric in Lansing by the third quarter.
The converted fleet vehicles will sell for $25,000 to $30,000, he said.
EV also plans to do personal car conversions that would cost $8,000 to $15,000, depending on the age and condition of the car and how far a driver would like to be able to drive on a single battery charge.
Sterrett said the startup will invest about $2.5 million to get the business up and running.
He said the plan to transform gas-powered cars into electric ones could help turn around the troubled domestic auto industry.
"We will be able to jump-start the Big Three," he said, referring to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
EV will announce its plans at a 1 p.m. media conference at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, coinciding with the North American International Auto Show at nearby Cobo Center. Though the Renaissance Center houses GM's headquarters, the automaker and EV haven't announced a partnership.
The batteries for the vehicles will be provided by Allentown, Pa.-based International Battery Inc.
"This is a very significant opportunity," International Battery representative Jeff Benton said. "Anything that could create hundreds of jobs and generate millions of dollars of revenue is significant."