Chinese billionaire's EV startups map ambitious plans
Three electric-vehicle startups funded by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting will show off prototype vehicles at the giant Consumer Electronics Show next month in Las Vegas.
One of the three, Faraday Future, plans to introduce a dozen vehicles through 2026, according to two former executives who declined to speak on the record.
On Wednesday, another of the companies, California-based Lucid Motors, unveiled a prototype of a luxury sedan it hopes to begin building in Arizona in late 2018. Lucid, formerly named Atieva, plans to follow the launch of its premium EV with a pair of luxury crossovers in 2020-21, company executives told Reuters in June.
But even as the three companies start to unveil prototypes, they still have not said how they plan to fund their luxury electric vehicles.
In November, Jia said the third electric vehicle company he is backing, Beijing-based LeEco, faced a cash shortage after expanding too fast, in too many directions. Weeks later, LeEco's parent, Leshi Holdings, said it had secured commitments in China for $600 million (4.1 billion yuan) to support LeEco.
Jia's plan to build three factories -- one for each brand -- is expected to cost at least $3.5 billion, according to estimates from each company. Design and engineering could boost startup costs by another $1 billion or more, according to sources familiar with Jia's strategy.
Faraday has said it will unveil a prototype of its first production vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show, but so far has declined to provide details. The former executives describe the vehicle -- internally dubbed Project 91 -- as a large, luxury flagship sedan designed to sell for $150,000 to $200,000, or more than the most expensive Tesla. It is slated for production in early 2018, Faraday has said.
A second model, dubbed Project 81 and due a year later, is a midsize crossover priced between the Tesla Model S and Model X. Faraday plans a third, less expensive model to debut around 2020.
A Faraday spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday.
Faraday started building a $1 billion assembly plant outside Las Vegas. But work stopped in November after Faraday missed several payments to the building contractor, according to a Nevada state official.
This year, LeEco displayed a prototype of its first vehicle, a self-driving luxury car called LeSEE, at its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif. LeEco later announced plans to build its own $1.8 billion factory in Hangzhou, China.
On Wednesday, another of the companies, California-based Lucid Motors, unveiled a prototype of a luxury sedan it hopes to begin building in Arizona in late 2018. Lucid, formerly named Atieva, plans to follow the launch of its premium EV with a pair of luxury crossovers in 2020-21, company executives told Reuters in June.
But even as the three companies start to unveil prototypes, they still have not said how they plan to fund their luxury electric vehicles.
In November, Jia said the third electric vehicle company he is backing, Beijing-based LeEco, faced a cash shortage after expanding too fast, in too many directions. Weeks later, LeEco's parent, Leshi Holdings, said it had secured commitments in China for $600 million (4.1 billion yuan) to support LeEco.
Jia's plan to build three factories -- one for each brand -- is expected to cost at least $3.5 billion, according to estimates from each company. Design and engineering could boost startup costs by another $1 billion or more, according to sources familiar with Jia's strategy.
Faraday has said it will unveil a prototype of its first production vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show, but so far has declined to provide details. The former executives describe the vehicle -- internally dubbed Project 91 -- as a large, luxury flagship sedan designed to sell for $150,000 to $200,000, or more than the most expensive Tesla. It is slated for production in early 2018, Faraday has said.
A second model, dubbed Project 81 and due a year later, is a midsize crossover priced between the Tesla Model S and Model X. Faraday plans a third, less expensive model to debut around 2020.
A Faraday spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday.
Faraday started building a $1 billion assembly plant outside Las Vegas. But work stopped in November after Faraday missed several payments to the building contractor, according to a Nevada state official.
This year, LeEco displayed a prototype of its first vehicle, a self-driving luxury car called LeSEE, at its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif. LeEco later announced plans to build its own $1.8 billion factory in Hangzhou, China.
