From the Annual Report
sec.gov :
The Company's objective is to leverage its technology base and name recognition to develop, manufacture and market products in a number of high potential niche markets in the near term, and automotive mass markets in the longer term. Fundamental to this strategy is the creation of large scale manufacturing capability for products developed by the Company......
Also, here's an article from teleport.com :
Electrifying Times
IACOCCA JUMPS INTO ELECTRIC POWERED VEHICLE MARKET
By Judith Crosson
Golden, Colo. Aug 15 (Reuter) - He helped choke the roads with cars, putting millions of Americans into Mustangs, Jeeps and mini-vans, but at age 72 Lee Iacocca has a new and shocking dream--he wants everyone to get out of the car.
Talk about a conversion of the road from Detroit. The former Chrysler Corp. Chairman, who saved the No. 3 U.S. car maker from financial disaster after battling as a major figure at Ford to keep the automobile king, has see the light and says it is shining on electric bicycles and scooters.
"I think the next real big niche happens to be bikes electrified," he stated in a recent stop in Colorado to promote electric-powered vehicles. Jumping on an electric bike or getting into a less-than-luxurious electric car, he musters as much enthusiasm as he did promoting sleek cars.
Iacocca is looking at how to move people around in less polluting ways, but he has no illusions about clipping the automobile's wings as the industry marks its centenary. "They still represent probably 15 percent of our GNP and one in seven jobs in the country. So you'd be crazy to think that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler want to see all their engine and transmission plants obsoleted because we found a new battery and a way new to charge and develop electric power"," he said.
So Iacocca is patient. "It took 100 years to develop the car...And it'll probably take 100 years to expect that electric will displace the internal combustion engine," he said, adding that nothing is going to happen overnight.
But he has a plan to create a new industry. "To make this happen you've got to have a great product," he said, outlining the plan. "You try to get a bicycle electrified in the garage (so) the kid (takes the bike), instead of grabbing the V8 engine Jeep to go for a pizza and congest and pollute."
Iacocca's name became a household word in the 1980s with his television spots telling the public:"If you can find a better car, buy it." Now he sees electric vehicles as filling a need. "And I think you start simplistically with a bike and a scooter..and a bicycle built for two. If you want real volume you've got to have a good product at $1,000." he said, adding that there would be no market at a higher price. He recently formed Los Angeles-bases EV Global Motors to develop and market light electric transportation. It bought a 12.2 percent stake in Golden, Colorado- based Unique Mobility Inc.,an electric motor producer for more than 30 years.
Electric bikes can go 20 to 40 miles (30 to 65 mk), depending on the type of battery used. Some people might want to use the bike's electric power on the way home after a long ride, Iacocca said.
While the bikes can be made to go as fast as 40 mph (65 kph), most are expected to travel at about half that speed. Safety concerns and the possibility of marketing to youngsters might require limiting the speed of some makes.
Iacocca has teamed up with an old friend, Unique Mobility chairman and chief executive officer Ray Geddes, who worked with him at Ford on several sports car projects including the Shelby Cobra, Shelby Mustang, Ford GT LeMans and Ford Pantera.
"It's got to look cool," Geddes said of the proposed new electric-powered car. While Iacocca is excited about the possibilities for the electrified vehicle market, it is a tamer proposition than his usual forays into business. In 1995 he teamed up the Kirk Kerkorian to mount a hostile bid for Chrysler.
Iacocca said billionaire Kerkorian was offering a good deal, but in the end he could not deliver. "He only raised $12 billion. He needed $25 billion. He didn't plan it right. He didn't do it right."Iacocca said. He said he had believed Kerkorian could get the financing. "I thought he had the right investmentbankers, but as turned out he couldn't deliver." |
