Enginer grows to 15 people in first two years of hybrid vehicle retrofit business

When oil prices started to spike a few years ago and $4-a-gallon gas was seen as a big problem, Jack Chen came up with a solution.

That solution turned into Enginer, a Troy-based start-up developing technology that improves the fuel efficiency of hybrid vehicles. The company went from just Chen, a former automotive engineering consultant, to 15 people today. It shipped 200-300 of its retrofit units last year and is aiming to break the 1,000 barrier in 2011.

"We'd like to be a leader in the automotive conversion market," Chen says. "We're second to A123 Systems right now."

Chen and a small group of colleagues first developed the technology at the X PRIZE competition a few years ago. Now their automotive retrofits make hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius 40 percent more fuel efficient. The company sells these conversion kits for $3,500 apiece, which compares quite favorably to competing products that often demand five figures.

"A lot of people can afford our product," Chen says.

Source: Jack Chen, president & chief engineer of Enginer
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Enginer grows to 15 people in first two years of hybrid vehicle retrofit business

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