FILE PHOTO – An employee pushes a car along a Zotye Automobile Co., Ltd assembly line in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, April 3, 2013. REUTERS/Lang Lang
(Reuters) – Zotye Automobile (000980.SZ), which is partnered in China with Ford Motor Co (F.N), said on Tuesday it planned to begin selling SUVs in the United States in 2020.
A Zotye spokesman said Ford was “not involved” in the Chinese automaker’s U.S. distribution plans.
Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In China, Ford had tapped Zotye to provide lower-priced electric vehicles to some of its dealers in that market.
In an email on Tuesday, Zotye spokesman Chris Hosford said, “There is no current plan for Zotye USA to sell EVs in the U.S. market.”
Zotye is setting up a U.S. sales and distribution arm in Lake Forest, California, and plans to sell vehicles in the United States through franchised dealers.
Zotye USA is owned by HAAH Automotive Holdings, whose president and chief executive office is Duke Hale, a longtime executive at several automotive import operations.
Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Bernadette Baum