7th Oct 2008 07:00
Enova Systems and China FAW Group Corporation
Conduct Successful Field Trial of Pre-transmission Hybrid-Electric Transit Bus During the Beijing Olympic Games
TORRANCE, CA, October 7, 2008 - Enova Systems, (AMEX: ENA and AIM: ENV and ENVS), an early stage production company in an emerging industry and a leading developer of proprietary electric, hybrid and fuel cell digital power management systems, is pleased to announce that twenty (20) China FAW Group Corporation Hybrid "City " buses with Enova's pre-transmission hybrid drive systems have successfully completed field trials on passenger routes within the Olympic sector during the recent Beijing Olympics.
Liu Minghue, the Executive Director of Engineering for the FAW hybrid-electric transit bus trial stated, "the Olympic demonstration exceeded our expectations and FAW is very happy with our strong partnership with Enova Systems." This month, FAW placed an additional order for Enova pre-transmission hybrid-electric drive systems as a result of the success of the demonstration during the Beijing Olympics.
Several China-based transit bus manufacturers participated in the trials. The FAW hybrid-electric "City Bus" is a 10m vehicle that is built by the Wuxi division of FAW Bus & Coach. The factory is now set to begin mass production of the new hybrid CA6100SH8 municipal transit bus which is designed for China's increasingly popular BRT systems (bus rapid transit) and traditional inner city mass transit routes. This new model, with 10 proprietary patents, delivers a fuel economy increase of 38% and an emissions reduction of 30%, compared to traditional diesel buses.
In November, Enova and FAW senior management will meet in China to begin formal discussions on how to aggressively pursue a hybrid strategy for the immense Asian truck and bus market.
According to the KPMG 2006 China Commercial Vehicles Market Report, the annual medium and heavy truck and bus build in China is approximately 1.1 million units, with FAW holding a 22% share of that build.
Mike Staran, President and CEO of Enova noted that, "This is the first time that the Enova 90kW pre-transmission hybrid drive system has been part of a head-to-head field trial competition involving a fleet of this size, and the success of this trial represents a very important milestone in our strategy for expanding the market for our hybrid and all-electric drive system solutions in China and the worldwide market."
FAW Group is a global leader in the vehicle manufacturing industry with a 50-year history of innovation. FAW is a diversified maker of quality light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks, automobiles, municipal buses and luxury tourist coaches, custom bus chassis, and mini-vehicles with total sales in excess of seven (7) million vehicles worldwide. FAW has twenty seven wholly-owned subsidiaries and controlling interest in 20 partially owned subsidiaries.
About Enova:
Enova Systems is a leading supplier of efficient, environmentally friendly digital power components and systems products. The Company's core competencies are focused on the development and commercialization of power management and conversion systems for mobile and stationary applications. Enova applies unique "enabling technologies" in the areas of alternative energy propulsion systems for light and heavy-duty vehicles as well as power conditioning and management systems for distributed generation systems. The Company develops, designs and produces drive systems and related components for electric, hybrid-electric, and fuel cell powered vehicles. For further information, contact Enova Systems directly, or visit its website at http://www.enovasystems.com.
Enova Systems, Inc.
1560 West 190th St.
Torrance, CA 90501
Tel: 310-527-2800
Contact: Jarett Fenton, CFO/Investor Relations
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to Enova Systems and its products that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for forward -looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "project," "plan," "seek," "intend," or "anticipate'" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology and statements about industry trends and Enova's future performance, operations and products. These forward-looking statements are subject to and qualified by certain risks and uncertainties. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Enova Systems' periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Enova's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. This forward-looking information should be considered only in connection with the aforementioned risk factors. Enova assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
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