No new North Las Vegas plans in near term for Faraday

Nearly a year after walking away from plans to build a $1 billion electric car manufacturing factory in North Las Vegas, Faraday Future has a new main shareholder.

But even with the investment announced Tuesday, the Los Angeles-based car manufacturer appears unlikely to embark on construction plans in North Las Vegas anytime soon.

Season Smart Limited, which had agreed to invest $2 billion in Faraday back in November for 45 percent of its shares, was acquired by Evergrande Health Industry Group Limited for $860 million on Monday.

Season Smart’s shares will be transferred to the Hong Kong Exchange-listed company, leaving 33 percent to the original shareholder and 22 percent to Faraday’s team. The transaction received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States last week.

While Faraday still owns the land at the Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas, no plans have been settled for future developments, according to John Schilling, Faraday’s director of public relations.

The Apex Industrial Park site “remains a long-term manufacturing solution,” Schilling said in an email.

To receive a financial incentive package from the state of Nevada similar to the one it had received previously, Faraday — which withdrew as a qualified project after halting its North Las Vegas development plans in July — would likely have to go through the application process again.

Evergrande Health’s investment makes it possible for Faraday to continue the development and production of the FF 91, its first production vehicle, and deliver the car to the market in 2019, Schilling said. Season Smart had already paid $800 million to Faraday, leaving Evergrande Health to pay the rest of the balance.

“This shows that our investor trusts (Faraday) to lead a transformation of the global automotive industry,” Schilling said. Evergrande Health values Faraday’s “product, technology and management team very much,” and it recognizes “that the smart mobility EV industry is one of the largest industry-revolution opportunities.”

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.