Bright Automotive has entered into an agreement for AM General LLC to be Bright’s exclusive North American assembler for the Bright IDEA vehicle platform.
The Bright IDEA is an all-new, plug-in hybrid electric work-truck which uses innovative technologies to provide businesses with a powerful new economic solution focused on the lowest total cost of ownership.
AM General, a long-established contract vehicle assembler, military vehicle manufacturer and services provider, will build the Bright IDEA in its Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka, Ind., under a contract assembly agreement with Bright Automotive.
The selection of AM General as the contract assembler is one of the necessary steps Bright Automotive has to take in order to meet current manufacturing plans to make the Bright IDEA platform available for sale as early as 2014 to government and commercial fleets.
Production of the Bright IDEA is contingent on the completion of Bright Automotive’s funding. This potential funding is a blend of substantial private equity commitments and a loan through the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.
The Bright IDEA platform is a clean-sheet plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that addresses the key economic and functional challenges facing commercial fleet operators. The Bright IDEA delivers unprecedented fuel economy and efficiency, maximizes utility, and significantly lowers fuel costs — the key pain point of fleet managers — while providing a range of 400 miles.
