Carbon Motors remains optimistic

CONNERSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - Carbon Motors, the company that in 2009 promised to bring 1,500 auto jobs to Connersville, says it is working hard to make that happen.

In March, the U.S. Department of Energy denied a loan application by the company for $315 million. The company needed the money to fund production of a new police cruiser.

The company’s CEO blames the government for putting the brakes on the business that promised to put 1,500 Hoosiers back to work.

"They were held hostage by the Department of Energy for 30 plus months including my team, our investors and the entire town. It’s unfair," said CEO William Santana Li.

The car was a rolled out with great fanfare in July 2009. Carbon Motors announced its plans to build the police cruiser in Connersville, a city with 16 percent unemployment at the time.

Touted as the world’s first and only purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle, Carbon Motors showed it off to cities across the U.S.

The company says the car has everything an officer needs built right in — night vision cameras, license plate recognition cameras, even radiation and chemical detectors. The company says the BMW clean diesel engine under the hood cuts fuel costs by 40 percent compared to a typical squad car.

"This vehicle will be more affordable and cost agencies less money to operate over the lifetime of the vehicle than any other police car that is offered today," said Stacy Stephens, Carbon Motors spokesperson.

Orders for the vehicle came in — 21,000 reservations — but the government funding did not.

The company focus now is to raise private dollars to fund the business.

"We are sitting on 35 countries requesting export. By one way or another the American spirit will prevail and we will put people back to work," said Li.

The CEO is optimistic the car will be built in Indiana, but he could not say when. However, if private investors green light the business, Li says it will take 2 ½ to 3 years before the first car rolls off the line.