(Source: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
By Kim Leonard, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Sep. 25--Electric car maker CT&T Co. Ltd. of South Korea plans to create 400 jobs and place two production and distribution plants in Pennsylvania, one in the Pittsburgh area and one near Philadelphia, officials said today.
CT&T officials on Thursday toured seven sites in Western Pennsylvania, including two in the city of Pittsburgh, where they would place a plant that would both manufacture and sell its cars and employ about 200. Other sites they looked at were around Pittsburgh International Airport and in the Mon Valley near McKeesport, said county development director Dennis Davin.
At a news conference at Carnegie Mellon University today, Gov. Ed Rendell said the state is working on a business assistance package to finalize CT&T's move to Pennsylvania. The company announced last week it would place a plant on the Delaware River near Philadelphia, where it would employ 200.
The company makes the tiny e-Zone reduced speed electric cars and has said it wants to develop a variety of vehicles by 2010 for customers in the United States. It displayed three vehicles at CMU today.
CMU is working to create new technology for electric vehicles such as lithium batteries, fuel cells, improved electric motors, and fast-charging stations that can recharge batteries in minutes instead of hours.
CT&T has said it will establish a North American headquarters, research center and several manufacturing plants for its vehicles, and could employ 2,600 people in the U.S. over the next five years.
The two-seat vehicles cost $8,000 to $16,000. CT&T could start selling some vehicles for commercial and government uses late this year in the U.S.
Kim Leonard can be reached via e-mail or at 412-380-5606.
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