In an exciting example of bucking party trends, Republican and former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour attended the launch ceremony this week of GreenTech Automotive, an electric vehicle company run by former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe. President Bill Clinton was also in attendance at the event held at the company’s Horn Lake plant.
Republicans tend to scoff at the virtue of green technology, blind to its economic impact and job creation potential, but as governor, Barbour aggressively courted the company to convince them to open their manufacturing plant in his state. Mississippi faced competition from other states, as Barbour noted. “A number of states were trying to get this plant. We got it.”
The company plans to create 426 new manufacturing jobs and support 7,400 more by 2014. GTA acquired the manufacturer of the new model, a Hong Kong based company named EuAuto that was behind the MyCar EV. It then relocated operations to the U.S. first model is an electric vehicle meant for neighborhood driving known as MyCar EV that will start at around $15,500 and have a top speed of 25 MPH. The cars can be charged either at a regular wall outlet or with a faster charging system and will have a driving cost of 2 cents per mile. Depending on how well the MyCar EV sells, the company has plans for more models, including pickups and delivery vehicles.
Image via Flickr