Amp Electric Vehicles

If any California company is wavering on a decision to buy Amp Holding's new all-electric utility vans, the state is certainly ready to tilt that decision in Amp's favor.

Less than five months after electric-vehicle maker Amp said it was switching from passenger-vehicle conversions to delivery-truck electric-vehicle production, the company earned a victory of sorts by getting approval to sell its trucks in the most populous US state.

Ever since Amp switched from converting passenger vehicles to electric power to converting big delivery trucks, the question has been when the E-Truck program will get real. The answer is now, since Amp has announced a new test program with TRC Inc. that will "independently test the vehicle to ensure it can survive the rigors of package delivery in an environment where it is common to keep their vans in service for 20 years or more." Amp says the final pre-production test program should be compl

Amp Electric Vehicles recently said it'd get out of the business of converting SUVs to run on all-electric powertrains, and would instead focus on converting bigger delivery trucks. Now, Amp has reached an agreement to help develop paratransit vehicles for a Central Pennsylvania transit authority. The twist? They will be able to be recharged wirelessly.

It's a turn in the road for Amp Electric Vehicles. The conversion electric vehicle (EV) company announced this week that it was no longer planning on making or selling EVs based on passenger vehicles like the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mercedes-Benz ML. Instead of the SUVs, Amp will now put all of its focus into delivery trucks, like the recent conversions for Navistar and FedEx. On a conference call yesterday, CEO Steve Burns said Amp will convert medium-sized step vans from 10 miles per gallon di

California dreamin'? Well, for Ohio-based Amp Electric Vehicles, wishes for some much-needed funding came true courtesy of one Golden State private-equity firm. Amp has announced it has received a $7.5 million investment from Orange County, CA-based Kodiak Capital Group. The funds will allow Amp to further expand its EV-fleet production.

Earlier this summer, Amp Motors delivered an electric delivery truck to FedEx, but that's not the only large vehicle that the Cincinnati-based conversion company has been working on. Today, Amp said it has delivered its first heavy-duty step van to Navistar, as part of a previously announced development deal between the two companies.

FedEx has been quite serious about adding electric vehicles to its fleet, saying in 2011 that it would more than double its number EV vehicles. Of course, all that meant was going from 19 to an expected 43, but it's the start of removing some tailpipes. Plus, with overall big green vehicle ambitions, FedEx

In March, Amp Electric Vehicles announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with U-Go Stations Cayman to bring its converted all-electric Mercedes-Benz ML to the Caribbean islands. Turns out, the gas-less powertrain is causing some bureaucratic headaches.

Amp, the Ohio-based maker of battery-electric SUVs, has opened its first dealership in Cincinnati and said first deliveries would start by year end.

The all-electric SUV conversions from Amp – gas-free versions of the Mercedes-Benz ML and the Jeep Grand Cherokee – now qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit from the IRS. Amp CEO Jim Taylor said in a statement that the announcement couldn't come at a better time. "Given the recent increase in gas prices and the low operating cost of an EV, more buyers are turning their attention to EV alternatives," he said.

Amp Electric Vehicles is getting ready for some fun in the sun. The Ohio-based EV conversion company announced today that it has signed a deal with U-Go Stations Cayman to distribute its all-electric SUVs in the Caribbean islands. Amp converts both the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Mercedes-Benz ML vehicles to electric drive.

Ohio-based Amp Electric Vehicles may not have the newest concept vehicles at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but it did bring in a big politician: Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH, pictured), who touted the work that Amp is doing by converting two SUV models – the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Mercedes-Benz ML – to electric drive. Amp also announced the price for the electric Jeep, $57,400, and the first dealer who will sell the two electric SUVs, Dana Hackney of

Surprised at the headline? Neither are we. But still, here's the official word from Amp Electric Vehicles: all-electric conversions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee are coming. Amp will start taking orders for both two-wheel and four-wheel drive versions of the battery-powered Grand Cherokee at the Detroit Auto Show in early January.

Amp Electric Vehicles is headed to the Detroit Auto Show next month with a new electric vehicle. The company is keeping the specifics of the model to itself at the moment, but we do know that the next battery-operated offering from the company will make use of an "iconic American SUV" as its platform. If we were the betting types, we'd put our hardly-earned dollars on the company pulling the sheets back on a Jeep Grand Cherokee EV. Amp has already unveiled an electrified Mercedes-Benz ML, and th

Amp Electric Vehicles announced today that it will reveal a brand new all-electric SUV at the quick-approaching 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Right after the curtain is pulled back, a running prototype will be part of the Ride & Drive, so we'll be able to take the SUV for a spin in early January.

The Right Vehicle To Start Moving A Country Off Gasoline

The vision of an Iceland filled with electric vehicles got a bit more real today in, of al places, Ohio. At a press conference at Amp's facility in Cincinnati, the EV conversion company delivered the first of potentially 1,000 all-electric SUVs to Gisli Gislason, chairman and CEO of Northern Lights Energy. The vehicle in question is Amp's latest conversion, a Mercedes-Benz ML 350.

In November, Northern Lights Energy signed a letter of intent to buy 1,000 converted electric SUVs from Amp Electric Vehicles. This was the first big step in NLE's plan to turn Iceland into a country full of electric vehicles and deliveries were supposed to start in early 2011 and continue for the following five years. The electric SUVs – initially Chevrolet Equinoxes and then also Mercedes Benz ML vehicles and, potentially, other models – will be first sold in Iceland, and later in