Enova Systems

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Enova Systems
legal form Incorporated
ISIN USU292791113
founding 1976
Seat Torrance , California , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 

Enova Systems was an American company that produced commercial vehicles with electric drive and implemented contract work for OEMs as a supplier . The company's headquarters were in Torrance , California .

history

Enova Systems was headquartered in Torrance , California .

The company was founded on July 30, 1976 under the name "Clover Solar Corporation, Inc.", followed by the first name change to "Solar Electric Engineering, Inc." in June 1979 and the second to "US Electricar, Inc." in January 1994. ". The third and so far last change of the name to "Enova Systems" took place in November 1999.

Under the first two names, the company was primarily active as a manufacturer of solar products and electric carts for industrial applications. In the last two incarnations mentioned, the business purpose of the company was to convert conventional vehicles into electrically powered vehicles and to develop, design and manufacture electric, hybrid-electric and fuel cell-powered drive systems and associated components such as energy management systems and chargers. The vehicle system integration was also carried out and various engineering contracts as service providers were also taken over.

The realignment of the company took place from 1993, when Ted Morgan was hired as the new CEO . Against the background of the onset of regulation - at the time California already had a requirement that car manufacturers should have 2% electric vehicles in their sales in 1998 - he concentrated on the market for electric cars and trucks. With this in mind, production lines were set up in Los Angeles , Redlands (California), Riviera Beach ( Florida ) and Honolulu as well as a core of 310 employees, making Enova by far the largest employer among manufacturers of electric vehicles. The Los Angeles Times has named the company "the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles". The Wall Street Journal named the company the largest producer in the sector.

The sales forecast for the 1994/95 financial year was 1,500 vehicles, in fact only 190 were sold. In the second quarter of the fiscal year (November – January) the company generated a loss of 16.5 million US dollars on sales of 3.7 million US dollars. In the same period last year there were a loss of 2.9 million US dollars and sales of 1.4 million US dollars. As a result, a good third of the staff was dismissed. With regard to the further development, the Detroit Free Press was critical: The once largest manufacturer of electric cars in the USA could no longer pay the rents and the CEO's hope of " becoming the Henry Ford of the electric vehicle industry" is dwindling in view of the company's lack of money the uncertainty of receiving research funding from government or business. A few months later, Morgan was replaced as CEO by Roy Kusumoto. He led the company through the crisis, stayed for around two years and left in November 1997. He was succeeded by Carl D. Perry.

At the end of 1999, the company announced that it was changing its previous name from US Electricar to Enova Systems . This is done against the background that the company is a "completely new company" due to restructuring, including within the product range, and the new name also expresses the self-image of developing new technologies that would have a lasting impact on electric vehicles. A good year later, the company announced that the originally retained ticker symbol "ECAR" would be changed to "ENVS".

In 2005 took place IPO Enova Systems at the LSE .

In 2005, the company was largely dependent on two industrial partners, who together accounted for 60% of sales: Tomoe Electro Mechanical Engineering (49.3%) and Hyundai (12.5%). At the time, the company had just under 30 employees, and between 2002 and 2005 it generated negative earnings of between $ 2.1 million and $ 3.6 million each year. Despite these numbers, Enova was listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 2005 . The company raised $ 20 million and achieved a market capitalization of $ 55 million.

The operational measures to finance itself in particular through cooperation as a supplier for established corporations or the US military meant that Enova Systems was not only listed in industry almanacs, but until at least 2011 also in plants that deal with investment recommendations. Enova was described as a “leading supplier of electric motors and power management systems for EV , PHEV and FCV ”.

In the following years the company got into trouble again: Despite innovative technological advances and the maturity of the market for alternative drive trains in commercial vehicles, the acceptance and introduction of the products was sluggish and the company had difficulties in achieving its profitability targets. Enova was informed in July that its listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) had been suspended for non-compliance with listing requirements. During 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission received multiple reports that the NYSE listing requirements had not been complied with. At the end of October 2012, the New York Stock Exchange announced the delisting at the end of the month. Enova did not object to these measures. In the third quarter of 2015, the difficulties resulted in the company running out of cash at the end of the quarter and receiving loans from an employee to cover minimum operating costs. In the quarterly report, management did not assume that the remaining assets would be sufficient to maintain business operations until the end of the year.

Products

The Chevrolet S-10 could be converted electrically.

In mid-1994, the company announced that it had the capacity to convert 400 vehicles a month - the Chevrolet S-10 Pick-up and Geo Prizm - with sealed lead-acid batteries in electric cars. The range of both models was 60 to 80 miles at that time .

As part of a service contract in Hawaii, Enova had to develop several new components (including a dual 8 kW inverter, a 380V DC-DC converter, software) and to bring in existing technology such as a hybrid control unit and a mobile fuel cell generator for a specific project.

In parallel to service orders for Hyundai, Enova also developed a series hybrid drive system for medium and heavy delivery and transport vehicle applications in the late 1990s.

Cooperations

In the summer of 1994, Enova Systems announced an agreement with Itōchū Shōji , a Japanese trading company, which was active for about half a year under the name US Electricar Inc. On the one hand, Enova was to electrify postbuses produced by the manufacturer Grumman for Itōchū in Japan ; on the other hand, the company invested a cumulative US $ 15 million for a package of shares, equity and loans.

CEO Ted Morgan also built important business relationships with General Motors and Ford, and also had discussions about electric vehicle sales in Malaysia and Mexico. Specifically, Enova Systems took part. a. started a joint venture with Grupo Industrial Casa from Mexico to market electric industrial vehicles and buses and North and South America.

Enova supplied the drive train and monitoring systems for prototypes of the Hyundai Santa Fe

Towards the end of 1999, the company announced that it was expanding an existing exclusive relationship with Hyundai to develop and manufacture drive systems and components for electric and hybrid vehicles. This parallel hybrid system was developed in collaboration with Hyundai for their concept car, which was exhibited shortly before at the Seoul Auto Show. The system was successfully integrated and was able to demonstrate all performance requirements. Specifically, Enovy Systems was selected as a competitive provider to develop a family of electric and hybrid-electric drive systems for a Hyundai range of electric vehicles from the existing electric drive systems with 60 kW, 90 kW and 120 kW. Before that, a hybrid system was jointly developed for a concept vehicle that had recently been exhibited at the Seoul Motor Show . In autumn 2000, Hyundai presented the prototype of a hydrogen-powered SUV with the Santa Fe FCEV and in 2001 the Santa Fe FCHEV, a prototype that is fueled with pressurized hydrogen . In both cases, Enova supplied the drive train as well as the monitoring systems for the fuel control and the fuel cell. The other suppliers included u. a. UTC Fuel Cells and IMPCO Technologies (tank). The Santa Fe FCEV won two gold and two silver medals at the Challenge Bibendum event launched by Michelin . Hyundai invested a total of US $ 15 million to build the first model. Due to an "Equity Alliance" with Hyundai, the German-American DaimlerChrysler group later had access to Enova's findings.

In mid-2000 the company announced that it had received an order from the High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) of the US state of Hawaii - in part financed by the US Department of Transportation - to develop electric trams for airports, parks and other high-capacity transit applications have received.

In the summer of 2003, the company received a new $ 600,000 development contract from HTDC to develop new technologies for high-performance mobile fuel cell applications and a fuel cell-powered hybrid bus for Hickam Air Force Base .

In 2008, Enova Systems signed an agreement with IC Bus.

In the following year, US military funds of US $ 420,000 flowed to the company, in this case as a subcontractor to EDO Corporation, to develop and produce components for an unmanned watercraft .

In the mid-2000s, Enova cooperated as an industrial partner alongside Hyundai u. a. with Wright Bus from Great Britain, EcoPower Technology from Italy, MTrans from Malaysia and Ford.

In mid-2008 it was announced that Enova Systems had signed an exclusive, long-term supply agreement with IC Bus , the largest school bus manufacturer in the United States and a subsidiary of the US commercial vehicle manufacturer Navistar . The agreement included a parallel hybrid drive system from Enova intended for the hybrid school buses. According to a communication from IC Bus, the selection as a supplier was based on their reliability and the proven ability to save fuel and reduce emissions. Another aspect that was emphasized was that no additional investments in the maintenance infrastructure were required.

Others

For a management book based on Theodore Roosevelt , then CEO Carl D. Perry was asked for a quote, which was also printed at the beginning. Perry recommended the work to both the aspiring and seasoned manager.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b US ELECTRICAR INC - 10-K Annual Report - 03/29/2000. In: getfilings.com. March 29, 2000, accessed February 9, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c Jonathan Marshall: Sputtering US Electricar Hits a Cash Wall / Company reports loss, layoffs, need for money. In: San Francisco Chronicle . March 21, 1995, accessed February 9, 2018 .
  3. ^ Michael Parrish: Electric Vehicle Firm Struggles to Keep Going: Energy: Electricar has laid off a third of its 300-member staff. It says it needs $ 15 million by the end of July to stay in business. In: Los Angeles Times . March 21, 1995, accessed February 9, 2018 .
  4. ^ A b Electric Car Firm Low On Fuel. In: Chicago Tribune . May 1, 1995, accessed February 9, 2018 .
  5. ^ Oscar Suris: The electric car, unplugged . In: Detroit Free Press . March 27, 1995, ISSN  1055-2758 , pp. 62 (English).
  6. ^ Automotive News - Cars and Trucks. In: Automotive News. May 8, 1995, accessed February 9, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Kusumoto leaves US Electricar . In: Electric Vehicle Progress, Volume 19, Issue 24 . 1995 (English).
  8. ↑ Enova Systems: US ELECTRICAR Announces New Name; Enova Systems Chosen to Reflect New Company Direction and Products. In: siliconinvestor.com. November 17, 1999, accessed February 10, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Enova Systems: Enova Systems Announces Nasdaq Name Registration and New Stock Symbol. In: siliconinvestor.com. October 10, 2000, accessed February 10, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b c Jack W. Plunkett: Plunkett's Renewable, Alternative & Hydrogen Energy Industry Almanac 2007 . Plunkett Research, Houston 2006, ISBN 978-1-59392-061-6 , pp. 224 (English).
  11. ↑ Paul Watts ( Baker Tilly International ): Key Accounting Issues for an AIM IPO ( klgates.com ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and Archive link according to instructions and then remove this note. ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / m.klgates.com
  12. ^ Jack W. Plunkett: Plunkett's Renewable, Alternative & Hydrogen Energy Industry Almanac 2008 . Plunkett Research, Houston 2007, ISBN 978-1-59392-100-2 , pp. 232 (English).
  13. ↑ Nick Hanna: The Green Investing Handbook: A Detailed Investment Guide to the Technologies and Companies Involved in the Sustainability Revolution . Harriman House, Petersfield 2010, ISBN 978-1-906659-67-7 , pp. 232 (English).
  14. ↑ Nick Hanna: Investing In Green Transport: A concise guide to the technologies and companies for investors . Harriman House, Petersfield 2011, ISBN 978-0-85719-076-5 , pp. 20 (English).
  15. ↑ Enova Systems delisted from NYSE. In: torquenews.com. October 28, 2012, accessed February 11, 2018 .
  16. ↑ ENVS Quarterly Report Q3 / 2015 10-Q Filling. In: quote.morningstar.com. November 13, 2015, accessed February 10, 2018 .
  17. ^ A b Matthew L. Wald: Company News - Electric Car Venture Set With Itochu. In: nytimes.com. June 10, 1994, accessed February 9, 2018 .
  18. ↑ a b Enova Systems Selected to Develop and Integrate Fuel Cell Bus for US Air Force. In: theautochannel.com. July 24, 2003, accessed February 9, 2018 .
  19. ↑ a b U.S. Electricar and Hyundai Motor Company partner on Hybrid Vehicle Development. In: electrifyingtimes.com. October 26, 1999, accessed February 10, 2018 .
  20. ↑ Seymour J. Rubin, Dean C. Alexander (Eds.): NAFTA and investment . Kluwer Law International, The Hague 1995, ISBN 90-411-0032-6 , pOmVR__CTUMC, p. 126 (English, full text in the Google book search).
  21. ↑ Sven Geitmann: Hydrogen Cars: What will move us in the future . Hydrogeit Verlag, Kremmen 2006, ISBN 3-937863-07-9 , kElmxEDAh9EC, p. 94 ( full text in Google Book Search).
  22. ↑ Noriko Hikosaka Behling: Fuel Cells: Current Technology Challenges and Future Research Needs . Elsevier, Amsterdam 2013, ISBN 978-0-444-56325-5 , V4CF1ji4Z2gC, p. 450 (English, full text in the Google book search).
  23. ^ Solar Today . American Solar Energy Society, 2002, ISSN 1042-0630 , 8TZWAAAAMAAJ, p.   58 (English, preview in Google Book Search).
  24. ^ Marc Weider, André Metzner, Stephan Rammler: The fuel cell race. Activities and strategies related to hydrogen and fuel cells in the automotive industry . Discussion Paper SP III 2004-101, Berlin Science Center for Social Research, 2004, p. 99, econstor.eu (PDF).
  25. ↑ Elias G. Carayannis, Jean-Jacques Chanaron (eds.): Leading and Managing Creators, Inventors, and Innovators: The Art, Science, and Craft of Fostering Creativity, Triggering Invention, and Catalyzing Innovation . Praeger, Westport 2007, ISBN 1-56720-485-6 , EQGabIGuSPUC, p. 293 ( full text in Google Book Search).
  26. ↑ Enova Systems To Develop and Build a New Electric Tram. In: netcomposites.com. July 25, 2000, accessed February 10, 2018 .
  27. ↑ News in Brief - UPS role for Enova . In: Jane's Navy International . tape  109 , 2004, pp. 33 (English).
  28. ↑ Enova Systems and IC Bus Execute Long Term Agreement For Hybrid School Buses. In: greencarcongress.com. May 20, 2008, accessed March 13, 2019 .
  29. ↑ California's Newest Green Product - A Hybrid School Bus - Saves Fuel, Reduces Emissions ( Memento from January 4, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
  30. ↑ James M. Strock: Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership: Executive Lessons from the Bully Pulpit . Three Rivers Press, New York 2001, ISBN 0-7615-1539-9 , 6kbir8n9E0gC, pp. 6 ( full text in Google Book Search).