Smith Electric Vehicles attracts Chinese investment

Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation, a specialist in all-electric commercial vehicles, has signed a letter of intent with Wanxiang Group, an automotive parts manufacturing and supplier.
March 13, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
3822 Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation, a specialist in all-electric commercial vehicles, has signed a letter of intent with 3823 Wanxiang Group, an automotive parts manufacturing and supplier. The principal terms include a US$25 million equity investment in Smith by Wanxiang and up to a $75 million investment in a joint venture between Smith and Wanxiang to develop, manufacture and commercialise all-electric school buses and commercial vehicles for multiple industries in China. Under the Smith brand, these vehicles will combine Wanxiang’s EV component technologies with Smith’s proprietary platform vehicle designs, including its Smith Drive and Smith Power systems. Both the investment and the joint venture are subject to the execution of definitive agreements and receipt of regulatory and other third party approvals.

“Wanxiang’s high quality precision manufacturing capabilities and purchasing relationships bring significant value to our business in our current stage of development,” commented Bryan Hansel, chief executive officer and chairman of Smith. “Wanxiang is one of China’s most respected companies and we look forward to a long, mutually beneficial relationship that advances the global commercial electric vehicle industry.”

“Smith’s market leadership in the U.S. and Europe bring valuable experience and technology to address the significant opportunity for all-electric commercial vehicles in China," said Pingyi Li, the executive director of Wanxiang EV Co. Ltd. "Working together, we see tremendous opportunity to serve this growing market and to leverage volume and cost synergies back into Smith’s global business. We are pleased to have them as our partner."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Liberty Charge creates EV boost
    May 22, 2020
    Under-the-pavement power comes to the fore
    Read More
  • Alternative fuel and hybrid vehicle ‘to grow at 12.9 per cent to 2022’
    October 21, 2016
    A new report published by Allied Market Research, Alternative Fuel and Hybrid Vehicle (AFHV) Market by Alternative Fuel Type, Vehicle Type, and Geography: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014-2022, projects that the world AFHV market is expected to reach US$614 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 12.9 per cent during the forecast period. The passenger vehicle segment is estimated to dominate the market from 2016 to 2022. Asia-Pacific dominated the global market accounting for a market s
    Read More
  • TRL and GCA to partner on consultancy and research
    July 10, 2013
    The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and US consulting engineering firm GCA have reached an agreement to share knowledge and staff on projects to maximise market position and provide their customer base with technology, resources and best practice worldwide. For GCA, this offers access to knowledgeable experts in the field of traffic control and modelling on a worldwide application basis, whilst TRL has access to GCA’s expert knowledge relating to transportation engineering technology and applicatio
    Read More
  • Call for a new vision for ITS in America
    February 1, 2012
    An ITIF report published at the beginning of this year stated that America is falling behind other developed nations in terms of ITS technologies and their deployment to address safety, congestion and environmental challenges. The report asked for a stronger commitment from the US federal government (see 'Just crawling along', interview with senior ITIF analyst Stephen Ezell, ITS International March-April 2010, pp.NA1-NA2) in order to address what it sees as increasing disparities with other countries. The
    Read More

Highlighted Content