Mullen Automotive

Mullen Automotive, Inc., is an American automotive and electric vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Brea, California. Its products include passenger electric vehicles and commercial vehicles; and provides solid-state polymer battery technology. The company is primarily involved in rebadging Chinese captive imports as the Mullen Campus, Mullen One, Mullen Three, Mullen Go and Mullen GT lines while still developing their proprietary Mullen Five EV.

Mullen Automotive
TypePublic
Nasdaq: MULN
ISINUS62526P1093
Industry
Founded2014 (2014)
FoundersDavid Michery
Headquarters
Brea, California
,
United States
Area served
North America
Key people
Products
Services
Revenue$0
-US$740.32 million
-US$740.32 million
Total assetsUS$302.59 million
Total equityUS$156.95 million
Number of employees
118 (2023)
Websitemullenusa.com

History

David Michery is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Mullen Technologies since 2012. Mullen originally intended to launch the Dragonfly K50 (also known as Qiantu K50) luxury sports car by 2021.[1] The company intends to field a luxury model first, then pivot to all-consumer electric vehicle models.[2]

On June 15, 2020, Mullen Technologies announced a merger agreement with Net Element, Inc.[3][4]

On March 17, 2021, Mullen Technologies announced that they would be opening a factory in Memphis, Tennessee for the manufacture of their Mullen FIVE crossover SUV, with plans to sell these models as early as 2024.[5]

In February 2022, an article by Fuzzy Panda Research presents future Mullen acquisition Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS) as an "EV Pretender – Passing Off Chinese Imports as “Made in the USA”; Booking Fake Revenue of Fully Returnable Products"[6]

In April 2022, an article by Hindenburg Research presents Mullen as one of "the worst [electric vehicle] hustles" in recent history.[7]

Mullen Five

In September 2022 Mullen purchased a controlling stake in Bollinger Motors, the manufacturer of EV pick-ups und SUVs for $148.2 Million[8] This valued pre-revenue Bollinger Motors at $247 Million. In June 2022, Bollinger had little more than a month left of cash to cover operating expenses.[9]

In October 2022, Mullen acquired the bankrupt company ELMS.[10]

Vehicles

Mullen One

A rebadged version of the Wuling Motors G100 van.

Mullen Campus

An unhomologated version of the Wuling G100 van without the safety improvements added to the Mullen One meant for use only on private property.

Mullen Three

The Mullen Three is a three-seat, cab-over class 3 last-mile delivery truck with a 60/120Kw (rated/peak) Jing-jin electric engine generating 150/320Nm of torque. It is manufactured by Yuejin, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor, a state-owned enterprise of China.

Import History

Mullen acquired 23 of the imported Yuejin EC303 EV trucks upon the ELMS acquisition which were imported from Nanjing Automobile Import and Export Co., Ltd. (NAIEC), a subsidiary of SAIC Motor in December, 2021:

ELMS Bill of Lading importing 12 Yuejin trucks in December 2021 ELMS Import Bill of Lading importing 10 Yuejin trucks in November 2021

In July 2023, Mullen imported additional Yuejin trucks through NAIEC using Mullen Technologies Inc:

Mullen Import Bill of Lading importing an unknown number of Yuejin trucks in July 2023

Mullen GT

A rebadged kit version of the Qiantu K50

Mullen Go
Xiaohu FEV, the vehicle Mullen Go was based on

The Mullen Go is an electric city car unveiled by Mullen Automotive in October 2022. Being essentially a rebadged Chinese Xiaohu FEV, the Go serves as a last mile delivery vehicle featuring a 16.5 kWh battery pack that provides 124 miles (200 km) of range in the New European Driving Cycle. The battery powers a 46 hp (34 kW / 46 PS) electric motor and enables the vehicle to hit a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h).[11]

Controversies

CEO Compensation and Awards

Despite Mullen Automotive Inc being unprofitable, CEO David Michery has continued with a base salary of US$750,000 per year and received a number of performance awards totalling over $40M by Sept 1, 2023.[12] At the 2023 AGM, David Michery was granted further "2023" performance awards.[13][14] On August 31, 2023, David Michery, along with Wes Christian appeared on Fox Business's Making Money show hosted by Charles Payne to discuss the Mullen "Naked Shorting" lawsuit filed against TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab and National Finance Services.[15] In the second half of the interview, host Charles Payne asked David Michery about his compensation. David Michery did not respond with an explanation before technical audio issues occurred.

In a press release the following day by Mullen, the company responded to the question of $31M in General and Administrative expenses for the company's third quarter but did not answer the question about the CEO's compensation.[16]

References
  1. Eisenstein, Paul A. (18 April 2019). "Chinese electric sports car Dragonfly K50 by Mullen coming to US roads next year". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  2. Smith, Abby (2020-06-15). "Mullen Technologies' road to sell electric sports cars is paved by Tesla's success". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  3. GmbH, finanzen net. "EV News: Mullen Technologies to Merge With Net Element (NETE)". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  4. "Net Element Enters into a Letter of Intent to Merge with Electric Vehicle Company Mullen Technologies". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  5. Bailey, Tom (17 March 2020), "Tax incentive approved for first Tunica Mississippi automaker in 63 years", Daily Memphian
  6. "ELMS – EV Pretender – Passing Off Chinese Imports as "Made in the USA"; Booking Fake Revenue of Fully Returnable Products?". Fuzzy Panda Research. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. "Mullen Automotive: Yet Another Fast Talking EV Hustle". Hindenburg Research. 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  8. "Mullen Automotive Acquires Controlling Interest in EV Truck Innovator Bollinger Motors, Inc". globenewswire.com. 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  9. Boigon, Molly. "The EV startup boom is over. Companies are now trying to avoid a bust". Automotive News. Crain Communications. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  10. "Mullen Buys Bankrupt ELMS And Its Indiana Plant For $240 Million".
  11. GAUTHIER, MICHAEL (24 October 2022), "Mullen Go Revealed As A 46 HP Last-Mile Delivery Vehicle For Europe", Carscoops
  12. "Performance Stock Award Agreement". SEC.gov. SEC. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  13. "Performance Stock Award Agreement". SEC.gov. SEC. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  14. "8K - 2023 AGM Results". SEC.gov. SEC. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  15. "Mullen sues Schwab, TD Ameritrade for inflating number of shares (Video)". Fox Business. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  16. "Mullen Automotive CEO Responds to Fox Business Question". Bloomberg. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
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