Another Mysterious Electric Car Company Is Emerging

Atieva concept car teaser image (Credit: Atieva )

The electric car market is about to get a little more crowded, with yet another mysterious company joining the ranks. Even less is known about Atieva than what’s been revealed on Faraday Future. Atieva based in Menlo Park, California, right in the backyard of Stanford University. That alone is noteworthy.

Even more interesting, the company is about to be purchased by Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC), according to Green Car Reports. BAIC is actually doing the transaction through its subsidiary called Beijing Electric Vehicle Company, which could win the award for least creative car company name.

We won’t have to wait too long to see what Atieva is working on, and why Beijing Electric Vehicle Company is so excited to get into bed with it. They’ll be unveiling a concept car at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show this upcoming April. The vehicle will likely break away from many current industry conventions.

Originally Atieva was founded to help automakers with developing software and battery tech for electric vehicles. This change in direction has been headed up by CEO Denise Gray, who has an impressive resume that includes running GM’s battery lab back when the Chevy Volt was being developed.

While some people might think this means electric car companies will be struggling to find customers, which might be far from the truth. Numerous surveys have found that a large percentage of the United States population would consider an electric car under the right circumstances. Not everyone can afford a Tesla, and some find the design of the Nissan Leaf to be ugly. With more options coming out, a growing number of people will be ditching their gasoline-burning vehicles and going all-electric.

Of course, yet again certain media outlets are making this all about Tesla, because Atieva obviously is working on a Tesla “killer” or something like that. The fact is we don’t know what kinds of tricks this new entrant into the market has up its sleeves, or what price point it’s aiming for. It’s possible that the company will concentrate more on the Chinese market, although it’s difficult to imagine Atieva would leave the fertile U.S. market completely alone.