MISHAWAKA -- Inside the building that once churned out Mercedes-Benz SUVs and Hummer H2s, work is beginning to retool the former AM General Commercial Assembly plant to produce cutting-edge electric vehicles.
SF Motors revealed further details Wednesday about plans to invest $160 million here to produce electric SF5 and SF7 models.
The California-based company, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Chongqing Sokon Industry Group, plans to roll prototypes off the plant’s assembly line by the end of the year. The Mishawaka plant is SF Motors only production facility in the U.S., paired with a larger facility in Chongqing, China. The plant here is expected to produce solely for the U.S. market.
CEO John Zhang, said the company’s goal is to become the world’s leading “global intelligent electric vehicle brand.” He was joined at the plant Wednesday by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indiana Commerce Secretary Jim Schellinger and Chinese Consul General of China to Chicago Hong Lei.
“Since the founding of SF Motors in 2016,” Zhang said, “we have been working tirelessly to achieve our vision in stealth mode.” But in March, the company unveiled its new concept cars that may rival well-known manufacturers like Tesla.
According to plant manager Todd Leahy, who formerly worked as a manager in AM General’s Commercial Assembly plant, 79 employees are working at the plant now to help replace obsolete equipment and prepare the high-tech automated aspects of the new production line.
By 2020, the company expects to employ 467 workers at the plant through a phased-in hiring plan, including United Auto Workers members from the contract that was transferred after AM General’s sale of the facility. Previously, the AM General Commercial Assembly plant had a peak annual production capacity of about 40,000 units, Leahy said. Once retooling is complete, the new plant is expected to produce 50,000 electric vehicles per year.