EV startup negotiating over NUMMI plant in California

After General Motors abruptly pulled out of its joint-ownership of Northern California's NUMMI assembly plant, Toyota was left unsure what to do with its only unionized plant in North America. Now, a small California-based electric vehicle manufacturer, Aurica Motors LLC, says it is interested in the plant.

Toyota previously announced that, rather than be left with excess capacity, it intends to close the plant and transfer production elsewhere by the end of March. Aurica confirmed to Automotive News that it has been negotiating with Toyota over the plant for three months.

"We want to keep the plant open, and we believe we have a very viable plan to do so by manufacturing electric cars," Aurica General Manager Matt Pitagora told the News. "It's all about keeping the lights on."

According to Aurica's Web site, the startup plans to produce a multitude of bodystyles based on a single modular platform. Those various bodystyles, Aurica says, could be swapped out over the course of ownership, allowing buyers to keep their same basic vehicle but change designs. The automaker also issued vague statements on a range-extending new technology that would make its EVs viable long-distance drivers, but it neglected to release specifics.

The EV builder wants to begin training NUMMI's UAW workforce of 4,700 beginning next month, the company announced in a press release, but its spokesman told the Oakland Tribune that the biggest challenge it faces is raising the $1 billion it estimates it needs to get the plant operating.

"The primary hurdle is the financing," said Pitagora in an interview.

The company has reportedly raised "millions" of dollars in capital from undisclosed financiers.

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