Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Aptera Hires CEO

Carlsbad-based Aptera, the electric car startup funded by Idealab and Google, said today that it has hired on a new President and CEO, Paul Wilbur. According to Aptera, Wilbur joins the firm from American Specialty Cars, a supplier of open air and convertible roof systems. He's also served at Saleen, Ford, and Chrysler. Aptera is developing a lightweight, low-cost, composite electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle; the firm recently scored a Series C funding round from Idealab and Google, among others. Aptera also said that it is planning for near-term production and distribution of its autos in California, with long term plans for high volume production somewhere in the southern U.S.