AD Motors to build electric car plant in Yeonggwang

AD Motors, a Seoul-based electric car maker, announced Wednesday that it will build a mass production facility in Yeonggwang Country in South Jeolla Province.

Once complete, the facility will be capable of producing 43,000 electric vehicles on an annual basis.

The company signed an agreement for the project with the governments of Yeonggwang county and South Jeolla Province on Tuesday. It will inject 62.7 billion won ($55.8 million) for the project over the next five years, the company said.

Of the total, 46.1 billion won will be directed toward building the facilities, and the remainder into research and development, the company said.

In addition to the investment agreement, Yeonggwang government also signed on to purchase 2,000 electric vehicles produced by AD Motors by 2014, and support the company in marketing its vehicles to communities and organizations in the region, the company said.

The company currently operates a plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province with an annual production capacity of 8,000 units.

The Hwaseong plant, however, may or may not be maintained once the Yeonggwang facility is completed, an AD Motors official said.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)