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Is North Las Vegas The New Detroit?

Associated Press

Is North Las Vegas the new Detroit?

Well, maybe not.

But electric car makers are flocking to the city.

We all know about Faraday Future, the Chinese-backed company that's building a massive plant at the Apex Industrial Site.

And now, there's a new company following suit – 2050 Motors.

They're also backed by Chinese investors.

Daniel Rothberg from Vegas Inc. told KNPR's State of Nevada that unlike Faraday Future, 2050 Motors will not be manufacturing cars in Southern Nevada for now.

Instead, the company has the exclusive rights to distribute an all-electric, carbon-fiber cars made in China. 

A manufacturing plant could be built in the future, but at this point it will just cars, parts and service. 

According to Rothberg, the company will be distributing two cars: a luxury sedan priced at $56,000 -- after rebates for buying an electric car -- and a smaller car selling for between $25,000 and $35,000.

Rothberg also pointed to the differences between how 2050 Motors was rolled out versus Faraday Future. 

“Where Faraday was all about the hype, they’ve kept a very low profile,” he said. 

Rick Velotta is the transportation reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

He said the biggest hurdle left for the company is passing crash tests, which are more stringent in the U.S. than in China and Europe.

If they pass that test, he believes Southern Nevada is a perfect choice to market the new car.

“This is like the perfect place for them, because if you have a showroom somewhere in a very popular place, maybe a Strip resort, you could show this off to different people who are coming to town,” Velotta said.

So far, the company has not received the tax breaks and incentives that Faraday Future and Tesla have, but Velotta thinks they might come in the future. 

“It certainly would make a lot of sense for them to do so -- especially if they’re going to be building a manufacturing plant and hiring 3,000 people like they say they will,” he said.

Both agree that if the company passes crash tests, we could see the cars in local dealerships by the end of the year. 

 

 

Daniel Rothberg, Vegas Inc.;  Rick Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Casey Morell is the coordinating producer of Nevada Public Radio's flagship broadcast State of Nevada and one of the station's midday newscast announcers. (He's also been interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, whatever that's worth.)