A California company that makes parts for electric cars said Friday that it plans to capitalize on the booming clean-auto market in China by building a manufacturing plant in Beijing.
The new facility will more than double AC Propulsion’s production in China. The private San Dimas company has a Shanghai facility that employs 50 people.
By 2011, the first vehicles equipped with the company’s drive trains are to hit the road in China. AC Propulsion plans to make the manufacturing equipment in California and ship it to Asia.
Building in China was an attractive proposition, the company said, because the country has committed $15 billion to encourage hybrid- and electric-vehicle development. Major Chinese automakers such as BYD and Geely are already in the game.
“Our order book is overflowing, so we’re expanding to meet future demand,” AC Propulsion’s chief executive, Tom Gage, said in a statement.
