Poetic justice department: SF Motors, the new Chinese EV brand that recently opened an office in Silicon Valley, has bought an auto assembly plant where smoke-belching Hummers used to roll off the line, and plans to convert it to an EV manufacturing plant.
AM General’s South Bend, Indiana plant also used to assemble SUVs for other automakers such as Mercedes (it’s not where the military Humvees are built). SF Motors plans to invest some $30 million in the factory to retool it for the production of its “next generation electric vehicles.”
SF’s parent company, Sokon, is a major Chinese manufacturer of motorcycles and commercial vehicles. The new subsidiary has hired Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard as a consultant, as well as several other former Tesla engineers. Few other details about the company or its planned products are available.
“This transaction represents a unique opportunity to grow our intelligent electric vehicle business through the addition of an existing production facility and a skilled work force,” said SF Motors CEO John Zhang.
Source: SF Motors via Electrek
Image: St Joseph County Public Library