Vehicle Production Group LLC, the maker of wheelchair-accessible vans, has closed after running out of money. The company produced a six-passenger MV-1 van that ran on compressed natural gas. Investors includes billionaire T. Boone Pickens and they had received a $50 million in low-interest federal loans as well.
As Department of Energy spokeswoman Aoife McCarthy said, “While this is unfortunate news about a very promising company, it is the exception rather than the rule for our portfolio of more than 30 projects.”
The company had already built and sold more than 2000 vehicles and had a backlog of orders. The news comes at a time when there are many doubts and worries about green car start-ups.