MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mullen has announced Memphis will become its primary manufacturing base for electric vehicles in the United States.
The announcement was made early Thursday morning by the Memphis Chamber. The organization said Mullen plans to create up to 800 jobs and deliver approximately 100,000 electric vehicles in five years once they are up and running in 2024.
WREG reported Wednesday those jobs will have an average pay of $53,000.
“Memphis moved the world when an alternative new sound known as rock ’n’ roll came from a recording studio on Union Avenue, and we continue to move the world by positioning Memphis to be considered as the new home to an alternative electric vehicle manufacturer in Mullen Technologies,” said Ted Townsend, chief economic development officer for the Greater Memphis Chamber. “This is only the beginning of fulfilling our promise to attract new businesses in innovative industry sectors that will bring good-paying jobs – 800 of them to be exact in this case – to the community. We will continue to aggressively seek this type of growth in advanced automotive manufacturing for Memphis and Shelby County, while at the same time continuing to pursue other industries that create good-paying, sustainable jobs.”
Mullen said the plant will manufacture a fully electric version of the 2P6 SUV crossover (previously known as the MX-05). Those designs are being done in California now. Once complete, the Tunica facilty will begin building the prototype.
Meanwhile, Mullen will be making changes to the Memphis facility so they can hit the ground running to build the new vehicle once approved. The company said the first vehicle will be in the price range of $58,000 – $78,000.
Mullen plans to open their plant with the production of 5,000 vehicles in 2024 and expects to grow rapidly and produce 22,000 units with the sale of $2 billion by 2027.
The news comes just hours after the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis & Shelby County approved incentives to the California start-up company. On Wednesday, the EDGE board of directors approved a 15-year jobs PILOT tax incentive worth more than $40 million for Mullen Technologies.
“Our hiring methods will be no different from any other automaker,” said John Taylor, Vice President of Manufacturing. “You know all of the people that are on the Mullen team have over 25 years experience in automotive. We are not asking this skill set to be any different.”
Mullen said it had considered sites in California and Washington for the plant but said Memphis offered some advantages. These include the existing building in Memphis, the city’s central location in the U.S., and a nearby facility in Tunica, Mississippi that was vacated by GreenTech Automotive in 2017.
“The Memphis factory provides us with the necessary manufacturing footprint to take Mullen to the next level while also helping us create an economic powerhouse in the region,” said CEO and chairman of Mullen Technolgoies David Michery in a statement.
Last week, the company announced its purchase of the Tunica property and said it will immediately begin efforts to reestablish the facility to build and support Mullen’s platform of electric vehicles. Company officials said the jobs that will be available in Memphis are easily trained.
Mullen raised equity of $3.5 million in 2020 and has received a commitment of more than $40 million in venture funding. To get the project to the next level. several key benchmarks are underway. Mullen is in the final stages of a merger with Net Element.
EDGE said annual property taxes on the Winchester property for the city of Memphis and Shelby County will average about a million a year during the PILOT term and $2.6 million after that.
The Nike building has been vacant for about five years after the company decided to move its operations to Frayser.