U.S. startup places US$143 mln EV order to Hyundai, Kia

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- U.S. electric vehicle subscription company Autonomy said Tuesday it will buy 3,140 EVs from Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. to strengthen its fleet lineup.

On Tuesday (U.S. time), Autonomy placed an official order to receive 1,640 EVs from Hyundai and 1,500 EVs from Kia in a deal worth a combined US$143 million, according to the U.S. startup.

The order is part of Autonomy's $1.2 billion plan to buy 23,000 battery-powered vehicles from 17 different carmakers as it pushes to expand and diversify its subscription fleet beyond Tesla Motors Inc., the company said in a statement.

"With every automaker going all-in on electric and so many exciting new products coming to market in the next 6 to 18 months, we have placed our fleet order and are excited to expand our subscription lineup," Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Autonomy, said in the statement.

The 23,000-vehicle order represents 1.2 percent of EVs forecast to be produced in the U.S. through the end of 2023, the statement said.

The Santa Monica, California-based company began its EV subscription business in January and currently has a fleet of 1,000 EVs, all from Tesla, it said.

Of the latest order, Tesla clinched the largest $443 million order, or 8,300 EVs, from Autonomy, followed by General Motors Co. with 3,400 EVs, Volkswagen with 2,200 EVs and Ford Motor Co. with 1,800 EVs.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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