ALTe Powertrain Technologies to form $200M JV in China; 4 factories plus $70M services contract for range-extended plug-in light commercial powertrain

31 August 2012

US-based ALTe Powertrain Technologies, the developer of a range-extended plug-in electric hybrid powertrain for light commercial vehicles (earlier post), has entered into a Joint Venture agreement in China with MESA Century New Energy Technology, Inc. A total of US$200 million has been committed to the JV at this stage.

Under the agreement, ALTe will own one third of the Joint Venture known as MESA Industrial Technology Corporation. Using $130 million, the company will open four factories in China while receiving a US$70-million engineering services contract to design a system specifically for the China fleet market. The JV will target the medium-duty bus and truck market in China with opportunities to export globally on multiple vehicle applications.

At full capacity in the forthcoming four factories, MESA is projected to realize production volumes of at least 240,000 units annually.

Additionally, the Joint Venture will foster the creation of new energy vehicle component technology company partnerships dedicated to supplying the JV and ALTe with advanced, high-quality, efficient and affordable electronic devices needed in the growing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle ecosystem. At full capacity in the forthcoming four factories, MESA is projected to realize production volumes of at least 240,000 units annually. A total of $200 million USD has been committed to the JV at this stage.

The current ALTe system can be retrofit into existing fleet vehicles while also being applied in glider new vehicles to increase their fuel economy and lower emissions. Designed to replace a base V-8 internal combustion engine powertrain, the current system’s technology improves fuel economy from 80–200%.

The JV signing ceremony was held at the Sunyi Industrial Park in Beijing where the JV will locate one of its assembly factories and a R&D center.

China is clearly going to be the leader in adoption of New Energy vehicles due to its sheer size and growing needs. The commercial vehicle segment is an intelligent first market to focus on and we plan to continue to expand from there.

—S. Moody Alavi, Managing Director of MESA Century

Simon Ahn, Board Member and Lead Investor of ALTe facilitated the transaction with the participation of the Global Cleantech Fund, LLC based out of Atlanta, GA.

Mesa Century is a newly formed investment holding company established in China to facilitate investments in clean technology companies based in China.