Electric Vehicle Fleet Conversion: New EV Niche

ALTe LLC a new fleet vehicle electric conversion start-up company in Auburn Hills, Michigan aims to target out-of-warranty existing commercial fleet vehicles already on the road and convert them to electric vehicles with range extending APUs (Auxiliary Power Units). ALTe’s EV conversion basically doubles the fuel economy while also meeting stringent environmental emission requirements.

ALTe’s REEV (Range Extended Electric Vehicle) powertrain is expected to power the vehicle for approximately 40 miles (not unlike the Chevy Volt) before an APU with an electric generator starts up (powered by gasoline) that will recharge the batteries and allow the vehicle to travel approximately 400 miles without having to recharge or refuel, which should eliminating any range anxiety.

The company executives/founders include: John Thomas (CEO), Nam Thai-Tang (VP Product & Program planning) and Jeff DeFrank (Chief Technical Officer).  They were able to acquire 8.4 million USD in state tax credits from the Michigan Economic Development Corp and are also seeking a US Department of Energy loan of 101 million USD.

ALTe already has some high profile automotive investors, which include the LaSorda Group, former Chrysler President Thomas LaSorda and former Chrysler sales executive Steven Landry, which both now currently sit on Alte’s board of directors.

Their first big EV fleet conversion customer is Gulfstream Coach to convert 3,000 airport shuttle buses, which translates into $240 million USD worth of EV conversion kits!