Oklahoma Company to Sell, Assemble New Electric Cars

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY - New jobs are coming to Oklahoma because of the Wheego Whip, an all electric car that rolled into Oklahoma Monday.

Five of the street legal cars were delivered to AMP Control in Piedmont, Oklahoma. The company is set to exclusively sell and assemble the vehicles in Oklahoma.

The cars are manufactured by the Atlanta based Wheego Electric.

The Wheego Whip goes up to 35 mph. The all electric two-seater can be charged from a standard household outlet. AMP Control has plans to build a plant that will also put together a highway speed version by the summer of 2010.

Ryan Deathradge, the president of AMP Control, said the plant will be built in either Piedmont or Kingfisher.

The city of Piedmont is already working to stake its claim.

"We want the plant. We want them to make the cars in Piedmont. It would put Piedmont on the map nationally I believe to build this kind of car," said Piedmont Mayor Mike Fina.

The Wheego assembly plant will create at least 50 jobs and accelerate even more down the road.

"It's a demand issue. We're not only talking Oklahoma, we're talking about all of the United States," the AMP Control President said.

The figures appear to be a sure bet. Deathradge said it only costs three cents per mile to get the Wheego's wheels going.

"Right now we're just excited to have the car on the ground and we're looking forward to the future," Deathradge said.

They plan to break ground on the plant in December.

The street legal vehicles do qualify for both the Oklahoma State Tax Credit of 50 percent off the price of an electric vehicle and the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit. With a sticker price of $18,995, that means residents can drive home in a new Wheego for under $3,000 once both deductions are made.

The Wheego will be presented at the State Capitol on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Test drives and a question and answer session will be available. The event is set to take place at the East Plaza.

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