GreenTech to make green cars in China

by Ray Jing   2011-08-15

ORDOS, Inner Mongolia – Virginia-Based startup GreenTech Automotive (GTA) said it will build and sell a new range of fuel-efficient cars in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, according to a report from automotiveit.com.

The U.S. automotive startup is teaming up with Shengyang Zhongrui Investment Co. to launch its Chinese production and sales venture, which will begin building its first vehicle later this year.

The jointly-owned company, which is called Ordos GreenTech Automotive Co., has started working on a plant in Ordos. The plant will produce a full line of vehicles powered by U.S. made combustion engines, hybrid powertrains and pure electric drivetrains.

GTA said the Ordos range will include small and mid-sized cars and SUVs designed specifically for the Chinese market. The Chinese plant will have capacity to build 300,000 vehicles a year with core components coming from the U.S.

GTA chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a press release that the venture will open up the Chinese market for his company, while at the same time creating jobs in the U.S. “Currently, the aggregated import duty and other taxes in China make imported electrical and hybrid vehicles out of reach for average Chinese consumers,” McAuliffe said. “GreenTech’s goal is to make our products affordable.”

GTA, which was founded in 2006 by McAuliffe and capital markets attorney Charles Wang, plans to start production of a new neighborhood electric vehicle, the MyCar, later this year in Mississippi. The model was designed by renowned designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Ordos bears bigger responsibility in emission reduction as it is rich in natural resources with one-sixth of the coal reserve in China. The city plans to make 500,000 to 800,000 new energy vehicles by 2015.

Currently Ordos is the home to Asia’s largest diesel powertrain plant which is built by Hawtai Motor. The plant can churn out 300,000 diesel engines meeting Euro IV or V emission standards and 450,000 automatic transmissions a year.