Zotye Automobile announced its plans of selling its SUVs in the United States beginning 2020. The company included in its strategy the set up of a sales and distribution facility in Lake Forest, California. It said it will sell SUVs through franchise dealerships.
In May, Ford Smart Mobility LLC and Zotye Auto signed a memorandum of an agreement involving the establishment of a joint venture that will provide customized all-electric vehicle solutions in China's ride-hailing market.
Ford is not involved with Zotye's plan to sell its SUV's in the United States, according to a statement from the company obtained by Reuters.
Indeed, Ford had just released the Territory, a mid-sized SUV in China in October this year in the hopes that it could boost the company's sales in the world's second-largest economy.
For its plan of sales and distribution in the U.S. market, Zotye partnered with the HAAH Automotive Holdings. The new California-based company will be known as Zotye USA and will be headed by Bob Pradzinski who was designated as the Senior Vice President Of Sales.
The announcement was jointly made by Duke Hale, chairman, and chief executive officer of HAAH Automotive Holdings, and Wangsheng Zhu, chairman of Zotye Automobile International.
The executives did not divulge detail about the first SUV that will come out from the partnership, nevertheless, they revealed that engineering works and homologation work on the model is ongoing without any problems. Sales of the said Zotye US SUV will begin in 2020.
Hale shared that it took more than four years of discussions and negotiations before Zotye USA came into fruition. He underlined that under the agreement, Zotye USA will be sold into the U.S. consumers through a franchise dealer network which will also provide services to future buyers. The chairman added that Zotye USA had already discussed with several major dealers and their names will be announced in the coming weeks.
Zhu, for his part, underscored HAAH's expertise in automobile sales and effective sales strategies. He is confident that the partnership will catapult Zotye Automobile in the international market.
Interestingly, Ford set up a separate business unit in China which was announced in mid-October. The company said the move will accelerate Ford's return to a profitable growth in the Chinese market, what it described as "world's largest vehicle market." The company was confident that creating a Ford China business unit will dramatically boost its revenue. The company had in fact appointed a new president and CEO for Ford China for faster decision making.
