Niche electric car automakers are emerging that might someday compete with the likes of major car companies. Each is approaching the market in a different way with different types of electric car strategies. If any of these gets a good grip on the market, that company could give the Detroit Three a run for their money.
Tesla Motors
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla is off and running as one of the first companies to develop a highway-capable electric car.
Co-founded by Elon Musk, 38, Tesla has sold nearly 1,000 all-electric Tesla Roadsters, which start at $109,000. Tesla also is developing a second, more-affordable car. Tesla hopes to introduce the Model S in 2012 for about $49,900, with help from a $465-million U.S. Department of Energy loan for future vehicle development.
"Our goal is to build increasingly affordable cars for the mass market," said Ricardo Reyes, Tesla's vice president of communications.
Musk, who made a fortune selling the electronic payment system PayPal that he co-founded, is on a mission.
"We believe we are a car company that is changing the world for the better," Reyes said.
Tesla, which is seeking to go public, has not made an annual profit for at least four years, according to a January regulatory filing. Its growth depends on consumers' willingness to adopt the Model S and other future electric vehicles.
Think North America
Think was founded in Europe in 1991 and has sold more than 1,500 of its Think City cars. With a top speed of 70 mph, the minicar can go about 100 miles on a charge.
Now, the company is setting up a $43 million assembly plant in Elkhart, Ind., and expects to begin producing the City early next year.
Keith Takasawa, director of product development for Think North America, said the automaker expects to produce about 2,500 City cars per year for the first two years and then expand production later.
"Our car is more ideally suited for the commuter and as an urban vehicle than most of the other competitors," Takasawa said.
Bright Automotive
Anderson, Ind.-based Bright Automotive is eager to begin mass production of its Bright Idea but has been hampered by a lack of funding.
The Idea is a light, plug-in hybrid cargo van powered by an electric motor for the first 40 miles before a gasoline engine takes over to power the vehicle and recharge the battery. It's aimed at commercial buyers.
Lyle Shuey, vice president of Bright's marketing and sales, said the company was the first to submit an application for a loan to the U.S. Department of Energy in 2008.
But Bright -- unlike Tesla, Fisker, Ford and Nissan -- is still waiting for approval, pushing production of the Idea to 2013.
"Sixteen months is just simply too long of a process," Shuey said.
The lack of approval has also caused interested investors to sit on the sidelines. In the meantime, Bright is developing demonstration vehicles for the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Fisker Automotive
Henrik Fisker, founder of Fisker Automotive, wants to change the reputation of electric vehicles from slow and tiny to fast and sporty.
The four-door $87,900 Fisker Karma has a top speed of 125 mph and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds.
Fisker, a veteran designer for Ford, BMW and Aston Martin, calls it "sensible luxury."
While the automaker has encountered delays, Fisker said his company is on track to deliver its first Karmas later this year. Fisker has 45 dealers and has pre-sold more than 1,600 Karmas.
The automaker expects to build 15,000 Karmas a year in a Porsche plant in Finland, with about 7,000 coming to the U.S.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company has raised more than $250 million in private investment and $528 million in federal money to launch the Karma and to start work on Fisker's second project, the Nina.
The Nina, slated to be built at a former GM plant in Wilmington, Del., is expected to be a family sedan costing $47,500.
The Karma and the Nina are similar to the Chevrolet Volt in that its battery is backed with an onboard gasoline-powered generator, so range won't be a concern.
After all, he said, a car should offer freedom.
"It's about going as far as you want," Fisker said, "whenever you want."
CT&T
South Korea-based electric vehicle maker CT&T knows its tiny low-speed vehicles won't replace traditional cars for commutes to work.
But CT&T sees its vehicle as an alternative for short drives for consumers and commercial fleets.
"If you're going to go just meet your friend a mile and a half down the street, you don't need to jump into a Suburban to do it," said Curt Westlake, CT&T's senior director of marketing from the firm's U.S. headquarters just outside of Atlanta.
The company recently opened its first assembly-retail location in Charleston, S.C. In the next 18 months, assembly is to start on CT&T's two vehicles -- the eZone, which has a top speed of 35 mph. with a 40-mile driving range, and the cZone, with a 25 mph top speed.
CT&T, which has opened three plants in China and one in South Korea, plans to have commitments for 10 combined assembly-retail sites in the U.S. and an additional 10 retail-only sites this year.
CT&T, which intends to operate on a franchise system, charges about $1.5 million to buy into a facility.
It is in talks with potential investors in Detroit, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego and several cities in Florida.
The race
The race to develop electric vehicles is generating billions of dollars of investments as a new set of companies vies for a piece of this expanding global market.
Amid the excitement, Michigan has planted its flag as a center for advanced battery manufacturing.
Heavyweights such as A123, Compact Power and Johnson Controls-Saft are all building or planning to build plants that will make lithium-ion batteries.
In total, more than $5.3 billion in electric vehicle-related projects have been started or announced in Michigan, said Doug Parks, senior vice president of business development for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
That includes Ford's project revealed Saturday to build battery packs at its Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti Township.
Will Michigan lead?
But while Michigan has secured much of the U.S.'s initial battery manufacturing, it has not locked up its position as the hub for the electric cars of the future.
The presence of the Detroit Three gives the state an edge. But Michigan is facing tough competition from Indiana and California, where niche electric vehicle makers are cropping up with plans to compete against GM, Ford and Chrysler. And then there's China, which has vowed to become a global leader in electric vehicles in three years.
"China is very aggressive," said Rick Stanley, president of Indiana-based battery maker EnerDel. "The Chinese government is ... helping fund a number of demonstration projects."
Michigan's strategy has been to secure battery manufacturing first with the idea that suppliers and electric car assembly would follow, Parks said.
That's largely because batteries are heavy -- about 600 pounds, EnerDel says -- and expensive to ship.
Michigan's effort to recruit advanced battery manufacturers began about four years ago. By January 2009, the state had created $335 million in incentives related to advanced automotive batteries. Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls' power solutions division, said the incentives allowed "us to move in at a very rapid pace."
But incentives are just part of the reason Michigan is having early success in the sprouting electric car business.
'Automotive talent'
Decisions by GM and Ford to assemble battery packs and electric vehicles here, for vehicles such as the Chevy Volt and Focus Electric, have also attracted more related business. Oak Park-based Azure Dynamics, for example, will install electric powertrains into Ford's Transit Connect van.
What's more, "The automotive talent here is second to none," said Jason Forcier, vice president of battery maker A123's automotive business.
But Michigan hasn't captured all the big, new players.
Others, too
California is home to high-end electric vehicle makers Tesla and Fisker, both of which aspire to move down-market in the future.
Indiana, meanwhile, has landed the headquarters for Bright Automotive, leading battery manufacturer EnerDel, and an assembly plant for Think, among others.
Mitch Roob, CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., said Indiana's low taxes, skilled automotive workforce and central location are helping Indiana secure the new business. "It's been Michigan and Indiana," Roob said.
Keith Takasawa, director of product development for Think North America in Dearborn, said Indiana offered $17 million in tax incentives, which was more than Michigan offered.
Don't forget China
Now, Think is in the site selection stage for a development center. "We think Michigan is probably going to be far more competitive," Takasawa said.
But while Michigan battles other states, bigger rivals loom on the world stage. Chinese automaker BYD plans to launch its all-electric e6 hatchback in the U.S. by the end of this year, for example.
Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of global electrification, applauds Michigan but said the electric car race is far from over.
"Every nation ... is looking at what they need to do," she said. "So, we have to compete with that."
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