AMP Jeep Grand Cherokee EV
AMP Electric Innovations Begin with Consumer Demand
As the Copper Development Association (CDA) has reported on for years, electric vehicles utilize substantially more copper than gas-powered vehicles. As the trend toward vehicle electrification evolves, the CDA is shining a spotlight on individual companies at the forefront of this phenomenon, showing their unique approaches as well as their perspectives on the importance of copper to their efforts. One such company, AMP Electric, takes vehicles that are already consumer favorites and converts them to electric without changing any of the features that made the cars popular in the first place. Simply put, they replace gasoline-combustion engines with all-electric powertrains. Their most recent conversion, the AMP Jeep Grand Cherokee EV, was unveiled at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. The Cherokee, with a 37-kilowatt-hour battery pack, has a range of approximately 100 miles, according to Steve Burns, AMP Electric president, and also hits 60 mph in under 10 seconds. It has a lithium iron phosphate battery and two rear-mounted 152 kW Remy AC motors.
AMP Electric has also demonstrated success with the 2010 and 2011 AMP Mercedes-Benz ML350. It, too, has a driving range of up to 100 miles per charge and the ability to go from 0-60 mph in fewer than 10 seconds, reaching a top speed of 90 mph. Luxury features like remote keyless entry and heated seats still work, and all other appointments are intact. The sole difference is that the car never has to stop for gas. Talk about a luxury feature!
AMP Mercedes-Benz ML350
The conversion process takes place at the AMP Electric conversion facility in Loveland, Ohio. Customers bring their cars to the facility and, two weeks later, drive away in their favorite vehicle, now electrified. The company has also announced its first dealer relationship, with Dana Hachney, who owns a Jeep dealership and two Mercedes dealerships in southwest Ohio. Burns says that consumers can order a new vehicle from the dealership and specify that they’d like it electrified, and AMP Electric takes it from there. “We’re becoming the manufacturer of record,” says Burns. “It’s as if the body of that car is a part we’re buying, just like we buy motors. When we’ve finished with it, the customer drives away in their ideal vehicle, now fully electric.”
The average cost to the customer? $57,400, according to Burns, who points out that the price is the same as Tesla model S coming out this year. The current government $7,500 tax rebate brings the total to less than $50,000. “Some of the earliest EVs, coming from Fisker and Tesla, were over $100,000,” says Burns. “So EV prices in general are coming down, which is a good thing for consumers.”
An Emphasis on SUVs
So far, AMP Electric’s electrification strategy is focused on SUVs. “The bar is so high in what people expect from a modern car, so we’re starting there.” says Burns. “SUVs are the largest single segment of American cars sold. So, if we’re easing into a new technology why wouldn’t we go with the most popular car segment?” He adds that most EVs made by major automotive manufacturers are small cars. “A lot of people don’t want small cars,” he says. Another AMP Electric innovation is the first electric Cherokee and MLE with four-wheel drive. “We’ve built our drive train to be very efficient and powerful to accommodate the demands of a large, four-wheel drive vehicle.”
Which raises the question of how this would appeal to fleet buyers. “The Jeep fits nicely with the fleet market,” says Burns. “Most fleet vehicles don’t have to go 500 miles in a day. They have defined routes within a limited geographical radius and range anxiety isn’t an issue. So they’re a natural as early adopters of all-electric SUVs.”
Automotive OEMs and AMP Electric
AMP Electric Conversion Facility in Loveland, Ohio
Burns says that working with the major automotive manufacturers results in a highly effective combination: the high quality and features of the original manufacturers plus the agile processes of AMP Electric’s electrification capabilities. “Electronics and batteries are changing so fast that it’s difficult for a major manufacturer to be nimble enough to keep up,” he says. He uses an analogy from the movie Back to the Future to illustrate his point: “If the flux capacitor came out tomorrow, we’d have it in your car in six months. Big carmakers would take four years.”
AMP Electric has developed relationships with Mercedes-Benz and Jeep that are very mutually profitable. Initially, the company released electrified versions of the Saturn Sky, the Pontiac Solstice and the Chevy Equinox, which Consumer Reports writer Gabe Shenhar reviewed as “quick, quiet, and refined.” While AMP Electric is no longer working with the Equinox, the experience provided a platform for subsequent conversions.
The AMP Electric Approach to EV Safety and Efficiency
AMP Electric takes an approach to safety testing that stands apart, according to Steve Burns. “We do crash testing and validating before we go to production,” he says. “Crash testing for electric vehicles requires an extra set of criteria that helps our engineers get the design right from a safety perspective, first. Then all the cars we produce are made to those specifications.”
From Steve Burns’ perspective, copper is of critical importance to the efficiency of AMP Electric vehicles. “It’s not only ideal for the motor windings, cables and battery packs,” he says. “It’s part of our efficiency story. Since energy is so precious, the goal is to make the vehicles as efficient as possible. It comes down to how much resistance there is to the electricity moving through. With a lot of materials, there’s more resistance, so there’s more heat, which means wasted energy. Copper causes the least amount of heat, so it boosts the efficiency substantially.
What the Future Holds
Burns says the next launch for the company will be a pick-up truck – again, a development that should hold a lot of appeal for fleet buyers and individual truck customers alike. While he’s not revealing who the OEM will be, he says an announcement will be made soon.
With AMP Electric as part of the mix, it looks as if consumers and businesses have more exciting options for vehicle electrification than ever. Steve Burns is enthusiastic about the continued growth of his company, saying, “Our goal is to get as many customer miles as we can and just perfect, and perfect, and perfect.”
For more about what role copper plays in the future of EVs, or for any other copper-related information, please visit the Copper Development Association’s Web site at copper.org.
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