China's Zotye Seeks More U.S. Dealers, Parent Company Readies More Brands for North America

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky
chinas zotye seeks more u s dealers parent company readies more brands for north

Following last week’s announcement that the T600 will serve as the tip of Zotye’s spear, probing into North America, parent company HAAH Automotive Holdings dropped hints that the brand might be one of several Chinese nameplates offered in the United States.

Zotye USA emerged in 2018, after HAAH signed a distributorship agreement with Zotye Automobile International Co. with the clear intent to get its vehicles to market in the Western world. But HAAH CEO Duke Hale claims his company has always had loftier ambitions.

“HAAH Automotive Holdings is a holding company really designed to handle shared services, so IT, legal, finance, HR, parts distribution, those kind of things are housed in HAAH Holdings. That was always the vision,” Hale told Automotive News in a recent interview. “Zotye USA happens to be the first brand we’ll represent.”

There’s nothing official announced, though Hale claims HAAH could manage “two or three brands,” with each receiving its own team of representatives and a distinct dealer network to ensure “no consolidation or coordination between brands.”

Meanwhile, Zotye plans to keep hunting for more places willing to stock its product using no-haggle tactics. Hale said he believes the company will have 250 to 260 open sales points in the U.S. by the time the T600 goes on sale in late 2020.

From Automotive News:

Zotye has continued to recruit dealers since it announced in January at the National Automobile Dealers Association Show in San Francisco that it had signed agreements with 10 dealers for 19 new-vehicle stores.

Today, the company has agreements with 22 dealers for 60 sales points and has another 20 or so points in process, ahead of plan, said Bob Pradzinski, senior vice president of sales for Zotye USA and HAAH.

Hale’s message for America? “Stay tuned” for an announcement regarding a second brand operating under HAAH’s wing. He declined to elaborate further.

[Image: Volha-Hanna Kanashyts/Shutterstock]

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  • TimK TimK on May 08, 2019

    All this chatter for something that will never happen — a Chinese nameplate selling volume in the U.S. auto market. How many times will this story be written? I’ve seen dozens of variations over the past 15 years.

  • HotPotato HotPotato on May 11, 2019

    Another manufacturer at the low end of the US market? That Great Wall pickup never arrived. Daewoo and Yugo and Daihatsu didn't last, and Hyundai and Kia only survived by jumping from third-world to first-world quality in five years. I don't see it happening.

    • Slavuta Slavuta on May 14, 2019

      Hyundai and Kia are NOT 1st world. Even 60K Kia Stinger shows its wear under 2 years in. Read long test reports. There is no quality there

  • Slavuta Civic EX - very competent car. I hate the fact of CVT and small turbo+DI. But it is a good car. Good rear seat. Fix the steering and keep goingBut WRX is just a different planet.
  • SPPPP This rings oh so very hollow. To me, it sounds like the powers that be at Ford don't know which end is up, and therefore had to invent a new corporate position to serve as "bad guy" for layoffs and eventual scapegoat if (when) the quality problems continue.
  • Art Vandelay Tasos eats $#!t and puffs peters
  • Kwik_Shift Imagine having trying to prove that the temporary loss of steering contributed to your plunging off a cliff or careening through a schoolyard?
  • Inside Looking Out How much costs 25 y.o. Mercedes S class with 200K miles?
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