Name: SCMP
Telephone: +852-2680-8888

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Xie Yu

Embattled Chinese electric carmaker Faraday Future (FF) is selling a 900-acre plot of land in North Las Vegas, Nevada for US$40 million, an advertisement posted on the company’s WeChat social media account showed.
“The parcel is partially improved, and 700 acres have been fully graded for industry use. The sale is the result of the ongoing optimisation of business strategies at FF,” the post said on Thursday afternoon.
The company added that this was a tough decision and that the move was a result of its decision to shift production of its flagship FF91 luxury car model to a manufacturing facility in Hanford, California.
The company’s first batch of new cars were due in 2018, but production has not yet started amid mounting unpaid debt, disputes, and lawsuits in China and abroad, related to its founder Jia Yueting.
LeEco’s Jia stays in US chasing his electric car dream, leaving wife and brother to handle crumbling empire
 The high-profile Chinese entrepreneur started FF in California in 2014.
At the height of his popularity, Jia dismissed smartphone maker Apple’s business model as “outdated”, and claimed that he would surpass Tesla in making electric cars. The company said that the FF91 would be faster than rival Tesla’s Model S.
A New York Times report quoted Nevada state officials as saying that FF, which bought the land in 2015, planned to invest US$1 billion that would create 13,000 direct and indirect jobs and generate US$760 million in tax revenue over 20 years.

But the company suspended construction of the plant in July 2017, as the financial condition of Jia and his business network crumbled in China.
Gone in 2.39 seconds: LeEco-backed Faraday unveils ‘world’s fastest’ electric car
In December 2017, Jia was placed on China’s official blacklist of debt defaulters, after he failed to repay 762 million yuan (US$113 million) to two securities companies.
In December 2018, a British Virgin Islands court ruled in favour of To-Win Capital, a creditor of Jia, allowing it to proceed with freezing his 33 per cent stake in Faraday Future.


Chinese EVs are poised to push out to global markets, using Hong Kong as a stepping stone

Chinese EV makers’ ‘do-or-die’ moment, Hyundai’s US$500 million investment: 7 EV reads

Electric vehicle deal with China is not close, top EU trade official says

Malaysia eyes Southeast Asia’s EV hub crown after Hyundai US$500 million investment

Electric & new energy vehicles

Electric carmaker Faraday Future seeks US$40 million for Nevada land as production plans unravel

Faraday Future’s FF91 electric car is unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 3, 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

FILE PHOTO: YT Jia, founder and CEO of LeEco, speaks during an unveiling event for the Faraday Future FF 91 electric car in Las Vegas, Nevada January 3, 2017. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo

Cash-strapped electric car maker Faraday Future to cut pay, lay off staff in dispute with China Evergrande unit

Faraday Future’s FF91 prototype electric vehicle is showcased at CES in Las Vegas on January 3, 2017. Faraday said on Monday an additional US$700 million from Evergrande Health was needed for the production and delivery of the FF91 in 2019. Photo: AFP

Chinese-backed electric car maker Faraday Future unveils Batmobile-like FFZERO1 concept that can be put together like Lego

Faraday Future FFZERO1 Concept vehicle at FF's pre-CES reveal event in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/ AP Images for Faraday Future)

Richard Kim, Faraday Future Global Design Director, left, poses for a photo with Ding Lei, Co-Founder, Global Vice Chairman, Managing Director, SEE Pland, Letv, second left, and Nick Sampson, VP of R&D and Engineering at FFZERO1 pre-CES reveal event in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/ AP Images for Faraday Future)

Faraday Future (FF) FFZERO1 Concept vehicle at FF's pre-CES reveal event in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/ AP Images for Faraday Future)

The Faraday Future (FF) FFZERO1 concept vehicle was unveiled in Las Vegas on Monday. Photo: AP

Electric carmaker Faraday Future gets opportunity to rebuild after settling dispute with main investor Evergrande

Faraday Future's FF 91 prototype electric crossover vehicle on show at CES 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The cash-strapped carmaker faces an uphill task, according to analysts. Photo: AFP

Evergrande Health jumps 10 per cent after arbitration calls for truce in war with electric car maker Faraday Future

Faraday Future said its largest shareholder Evergrande Health could no longer prevent it from seeking alternative funding
               Evergrande said financing options come with ‘stringent conditions’

Journalists gather around a Faraday Future FF 91 electric car during an unveiling event at CES in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 3, 2017. Photo: Reuters

Faraday Future is on track for mass output of FF91 electric cars, after cash lifeline by new owner

Faraday Future's FF 91 prototype electric crossover vehicle at CES 2017 in Las Vegas on January 3, 2017. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Faraday Future may begin delivering its FF 91 by year-end at US$320,000 each in China

A customer sits inside a Tesla Motors Inc. Model X electric vehicle on display at the company's showroom in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. China will consider granting foreign investors more access into its electric-vehicle market as the world's biggest market for battery-powered automobiles comes out with new policy initiatives to give a fillip to the industry. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Faraday Future’s FF 91 prototype electric crossover vehicle is unveiled at CES 2017 in Las Vegas on January 3. Photo: AFP

Faraday Future says it’s on track with US$1b automotive plant in Nevada

Faraday Future’s concept car. Photo: Simon Song

LeEco and Faraday Future’s autonomous electric cars may officially launch in 2017

Jia Yueting, co-founder and head of Le Holdings unveils the LeSEE in Beijing . Photo: Reuters

Time runs out for embattled Chinese tycoon Jia Yueting as court freezes his Faraday Future assets

Jia Yueting, the founder of LeEco Global Group, has been living in self-exile in the US since 2017, after he refused to obey Chinese authorities’ request to return home. Photo: Bloomberg

FILE PHOTO: LeEco's new Le Pro3 phone is on display during a press event in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 19, 2016. RETUERS/Beck Diefenbach/File Photo

Business

Companies

Banking & Finance

China Business

Start-up founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting is selling land acquired in 2015
Construction of Nevada plant was suspended in 2017 after founder’s financial condition deteriorated


Start-up founded by high-profile Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting bought the land in 2015 to construct a plant for its flagship model FF91, but plans were scrapped in 2017 after his financial situation worsened


LeEco

Electric carmaker Faraday Future seeks US$40 million for Nevada land as production plans unravel

Start-up founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting is selling land acquired in 2015 Construction of Nevada plant was suspended in 2017 after founder’s financial condition deteriorated

Start-up founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting is selling land acquired in 2015

Construction of Nevada plant was suspended in 2017 after founder’s financial condition deteriorated