After more than five years of setbacks, Albert Lam, CEO of Detroit Electric, unveiled the company's first electric car in Detroit and pledged to bring more than 200 employees to Wayne County.
"Tonight, you bear witness to the rebirth of the Detroit Electric brand," founder Lam said Wednesday at the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center, revealing the SP:01 to a crowd of several hundred people.
Lam, 50, left luxury manufacturer Lotus in 2008, and has been developing the SP:01, an all-electric sports car, since then.
The car, built off of the Lotus Elise platform, has a curb weight of 2,403 pounds, accelerates from 0 to 60 m.p.h. in 3.7 seconds and has a top speed of 155 m.p.h. It will cost about $135,000 and is expected to have a range of about 100 miles on a full charge in normal driving conditions.
"It's the fastest pure electric production vehicle on the planet at the moment," Lam said.
Still, the venture faces major hurdles. Automakers continue to improve the fuel efficiency of conventional gas-electric cars.
Consumers have grown comfortable with paying $3.50 to $4 per gallon, and a variety of all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars much less expensive than the SP:01 are not selling well. In addition, the cost of battery technology is not dropping significantly.
A newcomer such as Detroit Electric will face questions about quality and affordability as more established electric vehicle start-ups have discovered.
Previously, the company said its battery supplier is South Korea-based Kokam. On Wednesday, the company said it has two battery suppliers and is still in negotiations with one of the companies.
Lam said the company plans to make 999 Detroit Electric SP:01s, and then will launch a redesigned version after that along with additional models.
The car was developed in Lochem, Netherlands, but the company's headquarters is now in Detroit.
While only about a half-dozen employees work out of the Fisher Building now, that number will grow soon to about 30. The company also expects to select a manufacturing site in Wayne County this month and expects U.S. production of the car to begin by the end of the summer.
The company's name is drawn from another Detroit Electric, which made electric cars in Detroit about 100 years ago.
Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said he expects Detroit Electric's employment will grow to about 200.
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