Detroit Electric To Commence Production Following $1.8 Billion Investment

Detroit Electric has received a significant boost in its efforts to bring the SP:01 sports car to the market following a 1.5 billion pound ($1.8 million) deal with China’s Far East Smarter Energy Group.

According to chairman and chief executive of Detroit Electric, Albert Lam, the first 300 million pounds ($364 million) of the investment will be funnelled towards production of the Lotus Elise-based SP:01 while the rest of the money will be used to expand the company’s model range.

“We have been working exceptionally hard over a long period to establish this joint venture and to secure funding for our ambitious new electric vehicle programme.

“I am delighted to be able to announce this new joint venture which represents a significant boost to vehicle manufacturing and the EV industry in Europe and an important new step towards bringing our family of EVs to market,” Lam said.

Detroit Electric will follow a similar path to Tesla with its launch. Like the original Tesla Roadster, the SP:01 is an all-electric sports car based around a Lotus and will then be followed up by a more mainstream model in the form of an electric SUV in 2018. A third model is then set to join the family in 2020.

By the time 2020 arrives, the automaker intends on producing 100,000 vehicles annually.

While there’s a chance the SP:01 will be tweaked before production commences, it is predicted to deliver approximately 281 hp and 166 lb-ft of torque, figures identical to the pre-production model. That should award the sports car a 0-60 mph (96 k/h) time of around 3.9 seconds and a 155 mph (250 km/h) top speed.