It's the end of the road for Electric Last Mile

The former Hummer plant in northern Indiana is now on its fourth owner in five years, a stretch in which it has gotten $20 million worth of upgrades but failed to produce the jobs and vehicles its purported saviors have promised.

The Mishawaka plant now belongs to Mullen Automotive Inc., which last week bought the assets of Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc. The sale marked the end for Electric Last Mile, a Michigan-based electric vehicle startup whose spiral started this year.

Mullen, based in Brea, Calif., is dealing with its own financial struggles but was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware to take over the Indiana plant as well as Electric Last Mile's inventory and intellectual property.

The stalking-horse bid of "almost $100 million in total consideration" was placed in mid-September following Electric Last Mile's filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

Mullen is trying to break into the crowded EV market by piecing together struggling Detroit-area startups. It bought Bollinger Motors last month for $148 million.

"Upon closing the ELMS transaction, the company will be in a position to strategically leverage all its acquired assets to shorten its production path and aggressively expand into the commercial and consumer EV market," Mullen CEO David Michery said in a statement.