SF Motors, the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese light-vehicle manufacturer Sokon, plans to sell an electric-vehicle assembly plant in Indiana to Michigan electric van maker Electric Last Mile.
The deal is priced at $145 million, Shanghai-listed Sokon said in a statement Wednesday.
After the purchase closes, SF Motors will grant Electric Last Mile a license to distribute two of the EV models, code-named EC35 and D51, in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
SF Motors will also allow Electric Last Mile to procure the two vehicles as well as associated kits and components from China, Sokon added, without revealing additional details about the vehicles.
In 2017, SF Motors, based in Silicon Valley, acquired the former AM General commercial assembly plant in Mishawaka, Ind. It later renovated the factory and planned to launch output at the site in 2019. But the plans never materialized.
In 2020, sales at Sokon, headquartered in the south China municipality of Chongqing, fell 16 percent to 273,590.
The company estimated in January that it posted a net loss of up to 1.78 billion yuan ($272 million) last year, compared with a net profit of 66.7 million yuan in 2019, reflecting lower sales.
Electric Last Mile, based in Troy, Mich., said this month it plans to start production at the Mishawaka factory by the end of the third quarter this year.
