£42k Gibbs aquatic car could be built in the USA
Detroit News
After £50m, 1 million man-hours and 10 years of development,
Gibbs Technologies is preparing to debut its line of James Bond-esque amphibious
vehicles with the opening of its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills.
The British firm is expected to create 250 jobs here over the next five years
and spin out an additional 270 jobs at supplier firms and area businesses. The
company has begun recruiting for positions across the board, from senior executives
to technicians, and could fill 70 openings by the year's end, according to CEO
Neil Jenkins.
While other automotive companies are foundering, Gibbs Technologies
chose to set up shop in "the world headquarters for transport technology"
to take advantage of Michigan's infrastructure and recruit the best talent,
Jenkins said. "We're probably the first new (vehicle) manufacturer in Detroit
in over 80 years," Jenkins said. "Although it's an amphibian, at least
half the vehicle is automotive."
Gibbs Technologies received a 10-year, £2.95m tax credit
from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and an eight-year £7500
tax abatement from the city of Auburn Hills. The move will be a positive addition
to the state's economy, according to Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
"Other businesses will take note that this is the kind of business that
flourishes in southeast Michigan," Patterson said.
The first amphibious vehicle is expected to launch next year in
the United States. Though the company has not announced a price, past estimates
have put one vehicle -- a three-seater high-speed amphibian called the Aquada
-- at £42,500. The Aquada handles 110 miles per hour on the road and 40
on the water.
Jenkins said he expects the company's amphibians to "create
a market of their own. "It won't necessarily be the primary form of transport
for a family or an individual, initially," he said. Jenkins and founder
and chairman Alan Gibb began developing their first amphibious model in 1997
in Detroit. In addition to the Aquada, the company is developing a sports vehicle
called the Quadski, which is part ATV and part jet-ski, and an amphibian for
military use.
Gibbs Technologies has invested more than £6.5m in equipment
and infrastructure improvements at its 37,500-square-foot facility on two acres
in Auburn Hills. The company is still scouring US sites for its manufacturing
operations. "We've got some work to do before narrowing it down to three
or four states," Jenkins said, "but we are looking at Michigan."
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