SF Motors, a Chinese-owned, Silicon Valley-based electric vehicle startup, has closed the acquisition of AM General’s commercial assembly plant (“CAP”) in Indiana that once built Humvees.
SF Motors, which has now established its own U.S. and Chinese manufacturing capabilities, will use the plant for upcoming North American EV production as part of its global strategy to provide a new line of premium EVs. With this acquisition, SF Motors gains not only the commercial real estate, production facility and equipment from AM General, but also a talented and dedicated workforce with experience producing premium vehicles for manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Hummer. The acquisition plan was announced in June and the deal closed on schedule.
As part of the closing, SF Motors plans to retain all of the current CAP employees through several phases, and is expected to preserve approximately 430 American auto worker jobs, which would have otherwise been lost once their current contract expired later this year.
As of the beginning of November, SF Motors has been working on the rollout of hiring plans. Xinghai Zhang, Chairman of Sokon Industry Group (SF Motors’ parent company), said, “SF Motors values the employees of the South Bend-Mishawaka facility, as their experience and knowledge is invaluable and will greatly benefit the future products of our company, ensuring we deliver quality electric vehicles to U.S. customers. The first car from SF Motors will be made in Indiana. SF Motors’ culture values communication, cooperation and collaboration. We are excited to have the opportunity to welcome them to the SF Motors family.”
This acquisition builds on SF Motors’ recent purchase of InEVit, an EV battery modularization startup headed by industry leader and Tesla Co-Founder, Martin Eberhard.
SF Motors also plans to build cars in Beijing, with research and development locations in China, Germany, Japan and Ann Arbor, Mich.
