California-based company to co-develop, assemble, market Chinese luxury electric sports car in US

LOS ANGELES - California-based Mullen Technologies signed a new cooperation agreement with China's Qiantu Motor to homologate and assemble the luxury electric sports car Qiantu K50 in the United States for sales in North America, the company told Xinhua Thursday.

"Mullen believes that the K50 design, use and selection of materials as well as the build quality are representative of global best practices," said Yesim Erez, vice-president of Mullen Technologies, on why her company signed a partnership agreement with Qiantu Motor on Oct 12 to co-develop, assemble and exclusively market the car in North America.

"We have met and worked with the CH-Auto team and have developed the highest regard for their experience and expertise, both from a technical and management perspective," she said. "The K50 sits on a platform unique to itself and will set a new level of standard for all EV sports cars in the future."

Qiantu Motor was established in 2015 by CH-AUTO Technology Co, a Beijing-based auto design firm. Its plant in the east China city of Suzhou can produce up to 50,000 vehicles a year.

The Qiantu K50 is a 402-bhp full electric car with aluminum frame and carbon fiber body closures, according to Mullen. The Mullen-Qiantu collaboration will launch the car in 2020, and a limited number of reservations will be accepted in 2019.

The Qiantu K50, unveiled in China three years ago, is now sold at about $100,000 in the Chinese market. Mullen said it is to make the car available to North American consumers at an unexpectedly affordable cost by importing assembly-ready components and utilizing American-sourced key components.

"Mullen has also undertaken the responsibility of homologating the K50 under its own VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)," Erez said. "We have selected a facility for assembly in California."

"Mullen Technologies is a licensed OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) with a traditional dealer network through California that will establish a retail footprint in California, where 75 percent of all pure EVs and 50 percent all EV-Hybrids are sold in the United States," she said.

Mullen Technologies is a Southern California-based licensed electric vehicle manufacturer and international distributor.