U.S. firm to make EV charging systems in China

Arizona-based ECOtality Inc. has established two joint ventures in China to manufacture, assemble and sell electric vehicle (EV) charging systems in China.

The U.S. company partnered with Shenzhen Goch Investment (SGI), which will provide US$10 million to fund a manufacturing venture, and $5 million to fund a marketing venture.

According to a recent industry report by Pike Research, the global market for EV charging equipment is expected to become a $1.9 billion annual industry by 2015, and China is expected to be the world leader in installations, accounting for 47.8 per cent of annual sales.

"The joint ventures with Shenzhen Goch Investment expands ECOtality's global leadership role in electric transportation and equips us with the required assets for immediate and successful penetration into the China market," said Jonathan Read, president and CEO of ECOtality.

"We look forward to participating in China's extraordinary transition to electric transportation and believe these joint ventures provide flexible and high-quality manufacturing operations to meet our anticipated growth, and to service the increasing demand for our charging systems in Asia, the Middle East and Europe."

ECOtality, which has worked on every North American electric vehicle initiative since the 1990s, has exclusive rights to the patented Minit-Charger technology, which can provide an adequate charge to an EV in approximately 15 minutes.