Chinese Carmaker Zotye Picks U.S. Distributor for SUV

Chinese carmaker Zotye Automobile International Co. has selected a U.S. distributor to help it introduce, sell and service a low-cost crossover vehicle in the American market.

Zotye intends to debut the vehicle in 2020 with the help of Zotye USA, a new distributor set up as a unit of HAAH Automotive Holdings. Both companies are headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif.

HAAH was founded four years ago by Duke Hale, a former Mazda and Volvo executive, to help set up sales networks for foreign automotive brands. AN says Hale will head Zotye USA, tells Automotive News it expects to announce its first batch of about 20 dealers in December.

Hale says Zotye will offer its dealers “flexibility” about how they price vehicles and whether they sell vehicles through a conventional dealership or a “pop-up” showroom.

AN say Zotye’s first model is likely to be the T600 (pictured above), a crossover that Zotye launched in China in 2013. That model sells in China for $11,700-$20,200.

Hale tells AN the brand aims to launch in the U.S. in 2020 regardless of whether the U.S. is still imposing a 25% import tax on vehicles from China by then. Last year Zotye sold 317,000 cars and light trucks, according to AN.

Zotye Automobile was launched in China in 1998. The company says it currently operates 30 subsidiaries in China with more than 30,000 employees. A year ago Zotye launched a 50:50 venture with Ford Motor Co. to make all-electric cars in China.