Hummer and Merc factory to become EV plant

An electric vehicle start-up intends building all-electric SUVs in an Indiana US factory once used to produce Hummers and Mercedes SUVs.

SF Motors is taking over the AM General South Bend plant this week and has announced a US$160 million investment, which includes refurbishing the 62,756 square metre factory.

The company, backed by China’s Sokon, bought the electric powertrain start-up founded by Martin Eberhard, Tesla’s co-founder, and plans to produce its first EVs, the SF5 and SF7, as well as powertrains for other firms, Electrek reports.

The two SUVs will be equipped with a flexible motor system allowing vehicle design using one, two, three, or four motor configurations, with peak power ranging from 100kW to 400kW, expected to have a more than 480km range.

Trial runs for two new lines of vehicles are likely by the end of this year, with the first EVs due out next year.