What's Wrong With These Pictures? Korea's CT&T Bails on EV Production in US
Photos by Patrick Rall
When Korean EV maker CT&T decided to crack the US market they took a high profile that left some observers scratching their heads. The plans seemed a bit ambitious. Two years ago, CT&T announced that it would begin importing and then producing electric cars in the US, eventually employing 2,600 people within five years. The small EV maker dangled production sites in front of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and California, looking for tax breaks and incentives. Eventually they settled on Hawaii, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, and those states greeted CT&T with huzzahs and open arms. To announce to the world that they were playing in the automotive big leagues, CT&T had a fairly large display at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, showing their tiny EVs and a new electric sportscar, the C2, for Creative Challenge (or at least that’s what the decals on the side said).
The thing is, though, that it was hard to take CT&T seriously. Not just because their “cars” were closer to golf-carts than even to kei cars or because their US production cars seemed ambitious. The ladies that CT&T hired to decorate their display were dressed in a manner that brazenly said that CT&T was bush league, not ready for the show. The NAIAS is a class act. There is plenty of pulchritudinous eye candy but the ladies tend to be tastefully attired. The Detroit show is not SEMA. It was obvious that CT&T did not know the difference since they dressed their models in somewhat sleazy and overtly sexual garb. There was a sexy schoolgirl to go with a naughty cop. The other two models were less provocatively attired but were wearing skin tight patent leather and a micro-mini skirt respectively.
There are about 5,500 journalists who attend the NAIAS, many of them photographers, so it’s not unusual to see someone take a photo of a pretty lady standing next to a car. What is unusual is seeing reporters get out their cell phones and take photos of models’ behinds.
I haven’t seen a skirt that short at a car show since 1972
Now, it appears that skepticism about CT&T’s plans for North American EV production seems to have been well founded. According to the Associated Press, those plans have stalled with no plants constructed, no employees hired and no EVs built in the USA. Announcing, in Seoul, that it was facing “liquidity issues” CT&T said that at this time there is no schedule for the resumption of plans in the US. CT&T stock has plunged 89% this year, to 115 won ($0.11) a share. As recently as last May CT&T said that its Hawaiian facility would employ 400 people and make up to 10,000 cars a year. As in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, state officials greeted CT&T with open arms, but that was the last they’d heard of them.
Maria Tome, renewable energy program manager for the Hawaii Energy Office said, “They did their thing and they left, and I haven’t heard anything since.” Theresa Elliott, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania’s Department of Community & Economic Development concurred, “There hasn’t been any movement on this project since the initial announcement.”
As seems to be the case with the import start-ups like Global Motors/Mahindra, the Americans involved don’t want to give up the ghost. James Park, VP of CT& T United, the US subsidiary of the Korean company, says that it is separating from its Korean parent and hopes to find US investors and ownership. He insisted that plans to build EVs in Hawaii and South Carolina were proceeding, pending raising $250 million.
“We are in very close negotiations and the final stage of funding,” Park claimed. “Once that is due, the main purpose is to establish factory operations in Honolulu and South Carolina, but the funding must be in place prior to making any commitment.”
Park is more optimistic than those in the public and private sector who had hoped to attract CT&T. The Oahu Economic Development Board, Enterprise Honolulu, worked to bring CT&T to Hawaii. Mark McGuffie, a spokesman, now says, “We have not heard from CT&T since October 2010. Given their stock decline, there is no indication that CT&T will be coming to Hawaii anytime soon.”
CT&T’s partner in the South Carolina venture, 2AM Group a provider of technical services to the auto industry, doesn’t sound optimistic. Brian Jones, the company’s manager said, “They’re still getting everything together to be able to set up the manufacturing operations. So far, their marketing systems have to be improved to be able to justify production here. They have a good product, that’s the sad thing about it.”
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth which uses 3D and some great writers to give a realistic perspective on cars and car culture.
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I question CT&T management's decision to even think about producing EV in Hawaii. It has the highest cost of living, cost of labour, cost of petrol, and so on. It makes no sense unless your are producing items such as Hawaiian shirts, macadamia nuts, pineapples, ukulele, surfboards and so on to target tourists. It has to be a fly by night operation where profit and shareholders' interest are never a priority.
And when the retail electricity price is about $0.30 / KWh