SP:01 electric sports car to be built in UK

The deal with China’s Far East Smarter Energy Group has helped secure a total investment of $1.8bn for the development and production of electric vehicles over the next three years.

The joint venture will invest $370m into Detroit Electric’s European operations over the next four years with initial funds directed at completing the final homologation phase of its two-seater SP:01 sports car and the start of volume production at the company’s Leamington Spa facilities.

According to Michigan, USA-based Detroit Electric, this will include the creation of 120 new engineering jobs and 100 new manufacturing jobs. Series production of the SP:01 is planned to start later this year.

In parallel to the SP:01 activities in the UK, the new joint venture will establish a research and development, testing and production facility. The focus of this new technical and manufacturing centre will be the development of a family of Detroit Electric vehicles for future launches, including an electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) that will enter production in late 2018. A third model is planned for launch in 2020.