China startup Reech Automotive Technology Co. is tapping a factory previously owned by Suzuki Motor Corp.'s 50-50 joint venture with Changan Automobile Co. to build a new electric vehicle.
The move will allow Reech to win a vehicle production license from the Chinese government while helping Changan to make a better use of the idled factory.
The first product to be assembled at the factory in the southwest China municipality of Chongqing will be an electric crossover. Sales will begin sometime in the fourth quarter, Reech said.
The plant, which became operational in 2013, can produce up to 250,000 vehicles a year.
Reech was incorporated in Shanghai in 2016. It is one of numerous EV startups that have sprouted across China in the past few years.
Suzuki last year transferred all the interest it held in Changan Suzuki to Changan after a prolonged sales slump forced the Japanese automaker to exit the Chinese market.
