Thursday, December 25, 2008

Ssangyong out of money; what does it mean for Phoenix?


Earlier this month, we found out that Phoenix Motorcars was still working on its all-electric SUT, but that its use of the Altairnano lithium titinate battery is currently in question. Even before that, Phoenix announced that it would be switching from its first motor supplier, UQM, to some other supplier. So, to recap, the SUT - if it's ever released to the public at all - will use different batteries and a different motor than originally stated. Now, news comes from Ssangyong, original suppliers of the chassis and bodywork for the Phoenix SUT, that it is in such poor financial shape that it cannot afford to make payments to its workers. All manufacturing has apparently been stopped. New guts: check. New bones: check?

Besides the obvious issue this raises with all of Ssangyong's future hybrids, we wonder what it means for the future of Phoenix Motorcars. We know that Phoenix just recently announced plans to deliver EVs to Hawaii for testing, but we're seriously beginning to wonder if all of these setbacks and changes will be enough to keep the SUT from ever seeing the light of day.

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