Mullen Automotive and Loop Form EV Charging Partnership

California-based Mullen Automotive announced on December 14 that it has partnered with EV charging company Loop Global on its network of Level 2 and Level 3 DC fast charging stations.

Mullen said Loop will provide its smart charging technology and will be involved in the station’s site assessment, installation, design and ongoing operation. Mullen said the station will be built, owned and operated through Loop’s “unique” funding system, he Loop Impact Fund. A portion of monthly charging income is paid for station upgrades over a fixed period of time.

Mullen Chairman and CEO David Michery said:

Mullen has yet to produce a vehicle, but has announced orders and claims it has made breakthroughs in developing the next generation of solid-state batteries. Mullen said in 2020 that licensed all-solid-state battery technology could allow an electric vehicle to travel 640 miles on a flat surface at 55 mph and 550 miles at 75 mph. There is.” With a single charge, you can achieve far more range than any lithium battery currently on the market. ”

Mullen also announced on December 14 that it has placed an order for 6,000 Class I EV freight vans worth approximately $200 million from North Carolina-based company Randy Marion Isuzu. Founder Randy Marion said in his statement: Many customers look to me to find products for their company. A spokesman for the company’s commercial fleet sales confirmed the order to US News & World Report.

A skeptical report by Hindenburg Research, the same company that published the scathing report on fuel cell truck maker Nikola, said in April that Mullen would “go public through a reverse merger in the second half of 2021.” It’s an EV company that doesn’t have a marketable vehicle yet.” Hindenburg said it’s CEO Michery’s first foray into the automotive sector after working in the entertainment industry for 27 years.

The Hindenburg report quotes Michery as saying in March of this year: [van] Vehicles in the second quarter of the year…[We] We’re going to do that soon and we’re going to announce that it’s a very large company that buys these vehicles in bulk…we’re doing it here in America. We do it in Tunica, Mississippi. ”

Michery said his clients are “major Fortune 500 companies.” Mullen has previously said the van will be manufactured by He Tenglong Automotive of China and will be assembled in Mississippi. The company said it sold and closed its Mississippi plant in November.

Mullen purchased the wreckage of California-based CODA Automotive (an early EV candidate launched in 2009) in 2014 and uses its former facility in Monrovia, California as its battery lab. By acquiring CODA, Mullen also purchased the company’s significant investment in its lithium-ion battery technology.

The actual production schedule for the van is unknown. Mullen also showcased his FIVE EV crossover at the 2021 Los Angeles International Auto Show. The FIVE is due out in late 2024, with a 120-kilowatt-hour battery, 325-mile range and extensive onboard technology.

Makayla Brown, executive assistant to Mullen’s CEO, said in a phone interview with USN&WR that the van will be delivered at a later date. She confirmed that FIVE’s release is in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the price she said will likely be $55,000. Asked about the Hindenburg report, she said, “No answer. We have to love free speech in America.”