{"id":31810,"date":"2023-12-04T13:39:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T17:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=31810"},"modified":"2023-12-04T13:39:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T17:39:51","slug":"the-new-motor-city-california-is-home-to-the-21st-century-auto-startup-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/the-new-motor-city-california-is-home-to-the-21st-century-auto-startup-boom","title":{"rendered":"The new Motor City? California is home to the 21st century auto startup boom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Los Angeles<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 On a sunny afternoon this fall, automotive engineers and marketers with Mullen Automotive welcomed new customers to check out a fleet of brands, including SUVs, utility trucks and a sports car. The customers got test rides with experts and a look at future products.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But the startup automaker isn\u2019t located in Motor City, Michigan. It\u2019s in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The auto industry is experiencing a bloom of startups not seen since the early 20th century. But where Metro Detroit and its deep resources of human, entrepreneurial talent were at the center of the 20th-century auto revolution \u2014 a sort of automotive Silicon Valley \u2014 that startup synergy has shifted today to California.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764341007-cal-startups-mullenbollingerdisplay.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Mullen Automotive display in Los Angeles, anchored by the Bollinger B2 pickup, left, and Mullen 5 SUV. California has become a center for auto industry startups focusing on electric vehicles.\" width=\"530\" height=\"299\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764341007-cal-startups-mullenbollingerdisplay.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764341007-cal-startups-mullenbollingerdisplay.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"The Mullen Automotive display in Los Angeles, anchored by the Bollinger B2 pickup, left, and Mullen 5 SUV. California has become a center for auto industry startups focusing on electric vehicles.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"The Mullen Automotive display in Los Angeles, anchored by the Bollinger B2 pickup, left, and Mullen 5 SUV. California has become a center for auto industry startups focusing on electric vehicles.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Startup automakers like Mullen, Canoo Inc., Lucid Motors, Tesla Inc., Faraday Future, Fisker Inc. and others draw on extensive automotive \u2014 and software \u2014 talent needed to make a new generation of electric vehicles. While automakers of all varieties \u2014 startups, legacy, foreign transplants \u2014 still rely on Detroit\u2019s extensive expertise, the EV gold rush, electronics revolution and non-union manufacturing have democratized the auto industry away from Michigan towards California and southern auto plants.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-money-autos-2\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Even companies like Rivian Automotive Inc. and Bollinger Motors, which opened their first offices in Metro Detroit, lean heavily on California for talent and capital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Mullen now owns a 60% stake in Oak Park-based Bollinger, a rare EV startup headquartered in Michigan. While Bollinger\u2019s Oak Park operation is focused on heavy-duty, heavily-government-subsidized Class 4 and 5 commercial trucks, Mullen wants to manufacture the brand\u2019s consumer-focused B1 SUV and B2 pickup truck.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764310007-cal-startups-mullen-5-int.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"EVs like this Mullen 5 require miles of software coding for \u2014 not just digital displays \u2014 but for their battery drivetrains. Auto startups find a wealth of coders in California.\" width=\"538\" height=\"303\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764310007-cal-startups-mullen-5-int.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764310007-cal-startups-mullen-5-int.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"EVs like this Mullen 5 require miles of software coding for \u2014 not just digital displays \u2014 but for their battery drivetrains. Auto startups find a wealth of coders in California.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"EVs like this Mullen 5 require miles of software coding for \u2014 not just digital displays \u2014 but for their battery drivetrains. Auto startups find a wealth of coders in California.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cWe plan to produce the Bollinger models along with the rest of our product portfolio: the Mullen 5 SUV, GT sportscar, and Class 1 and 3 vehicles,\u201d said Mullen sales director Robert Sanseverino as he stood in front of the Bollinger B2 pickup in Mullen\u2019s sprawling consumer display in Pasadena\u2019s Santa Anita Park.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-money-autos-3\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"2\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Sanseverino, a retired, 30-year Ford marketing veteran, is an example of California\u2019s sprawling, human infrastructure essential to startups like Mullen. Sanseverino\u2019s vice president for commercial sales is Don Borthwick, another Ford veteran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cWe started producing the Mullen Three at our assembly plant in Tunica, Mississippi, this summer,\u201d said Borthwick of the company\u2019s Class 3 EV truck \u2014 rebadged from a vehicle sold in China by SAIC Motor, China\u2019s largest automaker. Mullen Three production will be followed by the Mullen One \u2014 a rebadged EV cargo van created by China\u2019s Wuling Motors.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764316007-cal-startups-mullenevent.jpg?width=980&amp;height=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Another perfect sunset backgrounds the Mullen Automotive customer event in Los Angeles. Mullen 5 SUV on left, Bollinger B2 on right.\" width=\"521\" height=\"244\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764316007-cal-startups-mullenevent.jpg?width=980&amp;height=459&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764316007-cal-startups-mullenevent.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=918&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Another perfect sunset backgrounds the Mullen Automotive customer event in Los Angeles. Mullen 5 SUV on left, Bollinger B2 on right.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Another perfect sunset backgrounds the Mullen Automotive customer event in Los Angeles. Mullen 5 SUV on left, Bollinger B2 on right.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThese commercial vehicles get us on an early revenue path, then we can move to the retail market in 2025 and our Bollinger, Mullen 5 and GT models,\u201d said Borthwick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Part of California\u2019s attraction to startups is its healthy EV market \u2014 Tesla\u2019s Model Y and 3 are the best-selling models here \u2014 that accounts for over 40% of U.S. EV sales. Battery-powered vehicles are as fashionable as Lululemon and Nike clothing in the country\u2019s biggest state economy.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-money-autos-4\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"3\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI was attracted to the styling of the Mullen 5 when I saw it at the LA Auto Show in 2021,\u201d said Tom Aylesbury, 60, of Pasadena, while ogling a Mullen 5. \u201cI like the Bollinger, too, but I\u2019m looking for a small SUV, and I find the Tesla hard to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764317007-cal-startups-mullenbollingerb-1.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"LA-based Mullen Automotive plans to produce the Bollinger B2 pickup \u2014 and sister B1 SUV \u2014 in Indiana. The company bought a majority interest in Michigan-based Bollinger in 2022.\" width=\"543\" height=\"306\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764317007-cal-startups-mullenbollingerb-1.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764317007-cal-startups-mullenbollingerb-1.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"LA-based Mullen Automotive plans to produce the Bollinger B2 pickup \u2014 and sister B1 SUV \u2014 in Indiana. The company bought a majority interest in Michigan-based Bollinger in 2022.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"LA-based Mullen Automotive plans to produce the Bollinger B2 pickup \u2014 and sister B1 SUV \u2014 in Indiana. The company bought a majority interest in Michigan-based Bollinger in 2022.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Not only does California\u2019s government subsidize EV sales, it\u2019s also requiring companies to buy EVs for their commercial fleets \u2014 a target of Mullen\u2019s Class 1-3 models.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But California is also attractive to startups because EVs \u2014 whose simpler, electric-motor drivetrains don\u2019t depend on Detroit\u2019s vast internal combustion engine expertise \u2014 are the cutting edge of a fundamental shift in the industry toward digitization. From electronic suspension and navigation systems to electric motors, vehicles today require extensive computer coding to run.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The center of the coding universe is California.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThe core of automobiles now \u2014 especially the EVs that all these startups are making \u2014 is software,\u201d said veteran iSeeCars.com auto analyst Karl Brauer, who lives in Orange County south of LA. \u201cAnd the most fertile soil in the world for programmers is the West Coast. There are massive numbers of coders here. They are young, they like California sunshine and they are in demand.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764314007-cal-startups-mullen-5-fr-34.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2025 Mullen 5 at the Mullen Automotive customer event. The company is among EV startups drawn to the Golden State for its place as a tech and software center.\" width=\"499\" height=\"281\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764314007-cal-startups-mullen-5-fr-34.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764314007-cal-startups-mullen-5-fr-34.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"The 2025 Mullen 5 at the Mullen Automotive customer event. The company is among EV startups drawn to the Golden State for its place as a tech and software center.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"The 2025 Mullen 5 at the Mullen Automotive customer event. The company is among EV startups drawn to the Golden State for its place as a tech and software center.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Brauer points to Irvine-based Rivian and CEO RJ Scaringe, who initially located in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth \u201cwhere he got industry cred for hiring veterans who knew how to screw a car together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cUltimately, Scaringe moved company headquarters here, which is where Tesla and Lucid and Fisker and these other EV companies are and where the coding talent is. And, honestly, where the weather is perfect, and you don\u2019t have to put up with long winters in the Michigan Rust Belt,\u201d Brauer said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-money-autos-5\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"4\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">These inherent California advantages are buttressed by an auto infrastructure that mirrors Michigan in many ways. Los Angeles has been home to cutting-edge auto design for years, courtesy of Pasadena\u2019s ArtCenter College of Design. It\u2019s produced luminaries such as Tesla design boss Franz Von Holzhausen, Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker, Lucid exterior design manager Jiyeon Jenny Ha, and Acura brand manager Jon Ikeda.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Major automakers have maintained design shops here to take advantage of the ArtCenter\u2019s pipeline of talent. The state\u2019s racing and performance-car culture has attracted engineering talent found in LA-based Honda Performance Development and the Toyota Research and Development center. Tesla built its first factory on the bones of NUMMI manufacturing, a former joint GM-Toyota operation in San Francisco\u2019s Bay Area.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764315007-cal-startups-fisker-ocean-pier-fiskerfans.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker got his design degree in LA from the ArtCenter College of Design. His company is head-quartered in LA. He is mobbed by fans at the Fisker Ocean EV's LA launch in 2021.\" width=\"516\" height=\"291\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764315007-cal-startups-fisker-ocean-pier-fiskerfans.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764315007-cal-startups-fisker-ocean-pier-fiskerfans.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker got his design degree in LA from the ArtCenter College of Design. His company is head-quartered in LA. He is mobbed by fans at the Fisker Ocean EV's LA launch in 2021.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker got his design degree in LA from the ArtCenter College of Design. His company is head-quartered in LA. He is mobbed by fans at the Fisker Ocean EV's LA launch in 2021.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Even as Toyota pulled up stakes in LA and moved its North American headquarters to Texas, many of its employees stayed behind and were gobbled up by EV startups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Employees like Raul Garcia, 40, of Costa Mesa, a skilled testing technician who went to work for EV startup Faraday rather than move out of state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI worked for Faraday for eight years as a technician testing drivability, range and powertrains,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cIn startups, you\u2019re all over the place, doing different things, and I liked that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Mullen Engineering Build Manager Mitchell Dyche got his mechanical engineering degree from California State Polytechnic University-Pomona in 2010 and did stints with motorsports programs and performance carmaker Saleen before Mullen signed him up. He showed off the Mullen 5 RS (the 5\u2019s performance variant) with neck-snapping, Tesla Plaid-like acceleration.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764326007-cal-startups-mullen-three.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Mullen Automotive is producing this Class 3 Mullen Three delivery truck in Mississippi. EV startups with ties to California are nonetheless producing many of their products in plants elsewhere.\" width=\"523\" height=\"295\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764326007-cal-startups-mullen-three.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764326007-cal-startups-mullen-three.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Mullen Automotive is producing this Class 3 Mullen Three delivery truck in Mississippi. EV startups with ties to California are nonetheless producing many of their products in plants elsewhere.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Mullen Automotive is producing this Class 3 Mullen Three delivery truck in Mississippi. EV startups with ties to California are nonetheless producing many of their products in plants elsewhere.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Will California\u2019s EV startup boom bring the same sustained auto employment that the Motor City has enjoyed for a century?<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Tesla\u2019s trillion-dollar valuation is the model, but most startups don\u2019t know where their next capital meal is coming from.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThere are a lot of startups offering work in LA like Canoo, Rivian and Mullen \u2014 but there is a lot of fluctuation depending on funding,\u201d said Garcia, now a Toyota associate auto technician in LA. \u201cI went back to work at Toyota TRD in their fuel cell program. TRD has a start-up feel to it, and we have rich parents (in Toyota), which gives more security.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-money-autos-6\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"5\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Nearly 300 startups tried to make a go of it in the early 1900s, but you can count the number of viable 21st-century startups on two hands. They are competing against a mature industry and customer base comfortable with ICEs. Mullen, for example, his picked niche EV segments \u2014 Class 1 and 3 utility vehicles \u2014 that legacy automakers ignore. As it gets into volume segments like pickups and SUVs with its Bollinger and Mullen models, capital requirements will skyrocket.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Analyst Brauer predicts a shakeout: \u201cThere has been a lot of government money supporting these companies, and \u2014 while the traditional automakers have taken a while to get into the EV space \u2014 they are there now. There is a culling coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764311007-cal-startups-lucid-hq-lobby.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Lucid Air's 900-volt electric battery architecture is displayed in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Newark, California. Lucid is among numerous EV makers operating in the state.\" width=\"518\" height=\"292\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764311007-cal-startups-lucid-hq-lobby.jpg?width=980&amp;height=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/01\/PDTN\/71764311007-cal-startups-lucid-hq-lobby.jpg?width=1960&amp;height=1104&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"The Lucid Air's 900-volt electric battery architecture is displayed in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Newark, California. Lucid is among numerous EV makers operating in the state.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"The Lucid Air's 900-volt electric battery architecture is displayed in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Newark, California. Lucid is among numerous EV makers operating in the state.\" data-c-credit=\"Henry Payne, The Detroit News\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">California is also a difficult place to do business with high taxes and regulations that helped drive Toyota, Nissan \u2014 even its golden child, Tesla \u2014 out of state. Both Michigan and California have lost manufacturing to right-to-work, low-energy-cost states. Mullen, Rivian, Fisker, Lucid and Tesla have all located manufacturing outside California in plants where they can move quickly, unencumbered by union rules.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cWith modern production methods continuing to move to computer-assisted design and more software, developers can be anywhere,\u201d Brauer said. \u201cFrom design to engineering to production, automakers have multiple locations to choose from.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles\u00a0\u2014 On a sunny afternoon this fall, automotive engineers and marketers with Mullen Automotive welcomed new customers to check out a fleet of brands, including SUVs, utility trucks and a sports car. The customers got test rides with experts and a look at future products. But the startup automaker isn\u2019t located in Motor City, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31810"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31810"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31811,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31810\/revisions\/31811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}