A new US-Chinese joint venture producing high-performance electric sports cars has decided to locate its $1.8 billion manufacturing base in the county-level city of Yixing in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.
Detroit Electric Vehicles is a partnership between the US auto maker Detroit Electric, Chinese new energy company Far East Smarter Energy and local industrial park Yixing Environmental Protection Science and Technology Industrial Park. The new company was officially established at a signing ceremony in Yixing on Feb 18.
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Representatives of the three partners in the new joint venture Detroit Electric Vehicles shake hands at a signing ceremony establishing the new company held in Yixing, Wuxi on Feb 18. The new company will engage in the R&D, manufacturing and sale of electric vehicles and vehicle parts. [Photo provided to China Daily] |
Detroit Electric Vehicles has registered capital of $600 million, with the remaining $1.2 billion to come from bonds and bank loans, according to Bloomberg. Detroit Electric has invested $300 million for a 50 percent stake in the company, while Far East Smarter Energy has put up $240 million for 40 percent of the shares, with the remaining 10 percent going to Yixing industrial park for a $10 million investment.
The Yixing facility will primarily be used to manufacture Detroit Electric's SP:01 SUV, a high-end fully-electric sports car that the company claims can accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour in just 3.9 seconds.
Construction on the project will begin in June this year, according to the agreement, with the company aiming to produce 100,000 electric vehicles per year by 2021. The base will also engage in research and development, sales, and producing vehicle parts.
The company plans to sell 70 percent of the vehicles to the European and American markets, and the remaining 30 percent in China, Detroit Electric President and CEO Lin Xiushan said at the ceremony.
