Tom Gage, one of the godfathers and early innovators in the Electric Vehicles (EV) segment, has joined forces with The Hybrid Shop to lead their expansion efforts into the commercial EV market. He was introduced to The Hybrid Shop's dealer principals recently at the annual dealer meeting at the company's Torrance, CA World Headquarters, where he addressed the group on the development of small-cell lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Gage has been commercializing electric vehicles since joining Alan Cocconi at AC Propulsion in 1995. There, they developed the tzero electric sports car which set new standards for efficiency and performance. The tzero inspired Martin Eberhard to found Tesla Motors, which, in 2018, delivered 80 percent of the EVs sold in the United States. Mr. Gage has since founded EV Grid to develop battery systems for vehicles, microgrid, and renewable energy storage. EV Grid works with automotive OEMs and commercial site operators to develop battery systems that reduce cost and improve efficiency. At the Hybrid Shop meeting, Gage noted, “The commercial vehicle market is the next logical step in the commercialization of fully electric drivetrains. Battery cost reduction and increasing reliability and range mean that operating cost benefits will soon make electric trucks irresistible to commercial fleet managers.”
Gage went on to say “Joining forces with The Hybrid Shop is a great fit because they are addressing a huge market that already exists – hybrid vehicle batteries. They understand the need for commercialization.” The company is under new ownership, supported by Itochu, a global-entity with worldwide resources. A new direction and business plan have been established by Martin Kruszelnicki and Yutaka Miyazaki to drive electrification, with the objective to improve the environment through the reduction of emissions.
The Hybrid Shop is a battery-technology-environmental company specializing in remanufacturing Nickel–metal hydride batteries. ‘The Hybrid Shop’ goes to market through retail franchisees, providing dealers with High-Voltage proportioning training, diagnostic equipment, marketing support, and replacement battery packs for hybrid vehicles. As the commercial market develops, through vehicles like Hino-195H, the company has plans in place to ramp-up efforts to build out a commercial network of dealers to service this burgeoning segment...
Read the full news story here.