Smith Electric Vehicles Announces LOI to Form Joint Venture in Taiwan

Smith Electric Vehicles Corp announced that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to form a joint venture with Taikang Technology Corporation in Taiwan. Smith Electric and Taikang intend to enter into a definitive licensing agreement, which will cover the assembly and distribution of all-electric vehicles in Taiwan, opening up an important new market for Smith Electric. The JV agreement will also cover the creation of a new manufacturing plant in Taiwan, which will create a number of new jobs over multiple years.

Taikang has twenty-five years of automotive experience and has expertise in upfitting specialized municipal commercial vehicles. Today, executives from both companies participated in a signing event at the ninth annual Taiwan Automotive International Forum & Exhibition that included Mr.Lin Chun Nung, Chief of Technical Services, from the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The vehicles will be Smith Electric branded and the joint venture will help Smith Electric to strengthen and further build its global manufacturing presence. The JV’s first three years of production is anchored by a 5,000 vehicle commitment, including transformation of a significant portion of the country’s municipal garbage truck fleet.

The initial trucks will be Newton and Edison model vehicles configured for garbage pick-up and transport. Smith Electric will have the sole sourcing and procurement rights for its proprietary Smith Drive, Smith Power, and Smith Link components. Taikang has been working closely with a number of Taiwanese government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on transforming its fleet of refuse trucks to all-electric, and represents an excellent local partner for Smith Electric.

“This is another significant milestone for Smith. With this letter of intent, we are eager to complete our first ever licensee agreement for the Company,” commented Bryan Hansel, Chief Executive Officer of Smith Electric. “Smith Electric plans more licensee agreements to support its long-term global growth strategy to meet growing demand for fleet transformation through electrification around the world.”