An Ames company plans to open a plant in Webster City, employing 300 or more people to assemble electric vehicles.
Officials of EnVision Motor Company say the plan is to produce up to 2500 electric vehicles at a new assembly plant on the east side of Webster City. EnVision was formed to combine foreign made car bodies with American made electrical parts. The vehicles are designed to get more than 200 miles on a single battery charge.
The electric cars are expected to sell for between $32,000 and $37,000.
The new Webster City assembly plant is scheduled to produce 50 cars a week for the first three months. The cars will be sent to a nationwide network of roughly 200 dealers, including one to be located in Des Moines.
EnVision Motor Company president and CEO Thomas Gleisner calls the vehicles the “first-family” of high-speed, 100 percent electric vehicles. Gleisner recorded a brief video on the company’s website. “Drive green. Drive clean,” Gleisner said, reciting a company slogan.
The news by EnVision is a welcome one to the Webster City area. Last October, Electrolux executives announced they would close the washer and dryer plant in Webster City early next year, shifting production to Juarez, Mexico. About 850 people will lose their jobs.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)