Iacocca To Peddle Electric Cycles

Lee Iacocca, the maverick businessman who twice pulled Chrysler Corp back from the brink of bankruptcy, plans to return to the transportation business with a new venture to sell electric bicycles.

Iacocca, who retired from Chrysler more than four years ago, is planning to form a company called EV Global Motors to sell light electric vehicles -- two-wheeled, three-wheeled and scooters -- primarily in Asia.

The one-time author, actor and businessman was in Taiwan Tuesday and unavailable for comment, but a spokeswoman for his investment firm said he plans a formal announcement of the venture when he returns to the United States. The new company will be funded by Iacocca and a group of private investors.

News of the venture was first reported by The Detroit News. Since the 72-year-old Iacocca retired as chief executive officer at Chrysler, the nation's No 3 automaker, he has invested in casinos and a fast-food restaurant chain.

He also made headlines in 1995 when he backed billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's failed takeover bid for Chrysler where he engineered two turnarounds by focusing on products and savvy marketing.

With his new venture, Iacocca will face a new challenge -- trying to spur demand for electric cars and bikes.

While demand has been slow to develop in the United States, the overseas market is expected to show the biggest potential.

Iacocca recently told the Detroit News that in China where bicycles are widely used for transportation, the government may wish to bypass a buildout of gasoline stations to spur auto sales and simply make the technological jump to electric transportation.

Iacocca is one of the best known executives in corporate America. During the 1980s his autobiography sold more than 7.5 million copies. In 1978, he was fired from Ford Motor Co by Henry Ford II.