EV Maker Reva Plans Factory Near Syracuse, NY

SYRACUSE, NY --- The Reva Electric Car Co., an Indian automaker, has chosen upstate New York to locate its future electric vehicle factory, the Associated Press reported. 

The automaker plans to work with Bannon Automotive, a new electric car company in Freeport, N.Y., to assemble a three-door plug-in hatchback called the NXR. The electric vehicle can reach speeds of 65 mph with a range of 100 miles on a single charge of the car's lithium-ion battery. 

Bannon Automotive has an exclusive North American licensing deal with Reva, and the companies will spend $26.5 million on the plant, the Post-Standard of Syracuse reported. Bannon plans to renovate a 150,000-square-foot building in Clay, a suburb of Syracuse, for the factory. 

Bannon has also reportedly applied for $40 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy and $12 million in loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Agency. These loan applications are still pending. 

Based in Bangalore, India, Reva unveiled its three-door NXR hatchback last month at an international auto show in Frankfurt, Germany. 

Reva was founded in 1994 as a joint venture between the Maini Group of India and AEV LLC, a California-based company. 

In September, Reva Electric Car Co. drew industry notice when General Motors revealed plans to use Reva's drive train technology in the electric version of the Chevrolet Spark, which will go on sale in India by the end of next year.