As Texas quickly becomes a hub for electric and other innovative automotive technology, a Chinese automaker is launching a new line of electric cars in the U.S. via North Texas.
Kandi America, the Garland-based subsidiary of China-based EV maker Kandi Technology Group, hosted a virtual event on Tuesday to kick off the launch of two of its compact electric vehicles – the K23 and K27.
“Today we mark this event as a milestone for the new era. Kandi is entering an exciting new chapter.” Xiaoming Hu, founder, chairman and CEO at Kandi Technologies, said during the launch event.
Parent company Kandi Technologies, which was launched in 2003, has been operating in the Metroplex since 2018, when it acquired off-road auto distributor SC Autosports. The 25 person team at Kandi America plans to use SC’s distribution network to bring its vehicles to dealers.
In an with the Dallas Business Journal, Kandi America CEO Johnny Tai said the company chose North Texas for its launch due to the region’s distribution logistics infrastructure. He added that there has been a lot of interest in the vehicles from local dealerships.
“These are the first of what we hope will be many models in the years ahead as we endeavor to fulfill our mission of bringing affordable and desirable EVs to all customers.” Jerry Lewin, independent director at Kandi Technologies, said during the event.
As a whole, Texas has seen a lot of electric and autonomous vehicle activity. Last month, EV giant Tesla announced plans to build a new Gigafactory for its vehicle production in Austin. In addition, autonomous vehicle company Waymo, which has been working on a fleet of electric vehicles, has been testing some of its fleet on Texas highways. But, perhaps more importantly, Austin is Ford's self-driving hub. Also, Uber has been working with Bell near Fort Worth on developing electric flying robotaxis.
Despite the announcement of the launch, Kandi Technology Group, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol KNDI, saw its stock price drop. On Monday, its stocks were trading at $10.19 per share. As of the time of publication, its shares had dropped by more than 11 percent to $9.06 per share.
“This is our chapter one," Tai told the Dallas Business Journal.
