A Kurrent in the assembly process. Click the photo for a high res gallery

AutoblogGreen visited the original factory of American Electric Vehicle back in February of this year to talk to company President Scott Thornton and drive the Kurrent NEV. Since then, business has been pretty brisk for AEV and they've moved about twenty miles west to Wixom, MI into a larger facility with almost four times the space. The new factory will help AEV catch up with their backlog of 2,800 orders for the little two-seat Kurrent as well as add new variants like a pickup truck that can be used by service personnel.

[Source: Detroit News]

A few days ago, Scott Thornton took some time to talk to AutoblogGreen about his current project, American Electric Vehicles and the Kurrent electric car (for an intro to the Kurrent, read this).

ABG: How did you get started with American Electric Vehicles?

ST: We have a pretty strong marketing background in launching new brands in the United States and throughout the world. A guy acquired the rights to the vehicle from a relatively under-performing Italian company that had great designs but weak business sense. He asked us for help in launching this brand. We looked at it and thought it was fantastic and next thing we had half the company. It started as most things, out of necessity, I've got this great design, can you help me bring it to life? We're all one big happy family now, we've got experts in assembly, manufacturing, marketing, purchasing, design and quality control. We've got a really good group of ex-car guys turned new vehicle guys.

ABG: So the Kurrent originated from an Italian company?

ST: It's an Italian design that's been around for about four years. We've got about 600 units on the road around the world. We've got a lot of good testing on it and the design is just fantastic. We think the styling is best in class. We only have one major competitor and that's the GEM, so it's not too hard to beat them in terms of styling.

Continue reading the interview and see more photos after the jump

Is the sudden interest in neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV) good for EV movement? Are they helping advance the technology needed to introduce mainstream consumers to EVs? Is there really a strong market for $10,000 or $15,000 grocery getters and industrial-yard security cruisers?

Those are questions the Kurrent, an absolutely adorable NEV that will be built by American Electric Vehicles in Michigan, will answer in the next few years. Company president Scott Thornton says he'll hire 50 to 70 employees for the new venture. The problem with NEVs is that laws prevent them from operating on roads with speed limits faster than 35 mph, and they're allowed to run only 25 mph top speed. Experts disagree on the size of the market potential. Thornton is looking at 15,000 a year. The president of GEM, another NEV manufacturer owned by DaimlerChrysler, says about half that. Other experts say NEVs face considerable competition from less expensive golf carts. Thornton is counting on innovation and marketing. He sees solar panels, electric boats and scooters as a way to grow the company. Right now he's hoping to ramp up to 500 a month by next year.

[Source: Howard Lovy / Oakland Business Review]

UPDATE: Read AutoblogGreen's interview with Thornton here.