Electric vehicle OEM Mullen makes key hires

Mullen Automotive Inc., one of the newest companies to enter the commercial electric vehicle (EV) space, recently made a number of hires across its commercial van and truck program and Mullen FIVE EV crossover programs to help support its portfolio growth plans.

The new hires will be working across Mullen’s different facilities, including the Commercial Vehicle Team in Troy, Mich.; the Consumer Vehicle Team in Irvine, Calif.; the Powertrain and Battery Group in Monrovia, Calif.; the Manufacturing Plant in Tunica, Miss.; and the Mishawka, Ind., factory.

Mullen Automotive’s Class 3 commercial EV is expected to be available later this summer. (Photo: Mullen Automotive)

“It’s exciting to see the growth across our different teams and locations in California, Michigan, Indiana and Mississippi,” said David Michery, CEO and chairman of Mullen Automotive. “Strategically, we have been adding very strong expertise coming from tier 1 suppliers, traditional OEMs and other EV start-ups. It’s very encouraging to see so many strong candidates reach out to us, looking to join the Mullen team.”

Mullen’s new team members come from a variety of automotive brands, including, VW, Joyson, GM, Hyundai, Isuzu, Nexteer, Mahindra, Ford, Stellantis, Hyliion and Electra Meccanica.

These new hires include:

Product development

Jerry Hu - President, Mullen Commercial Vehicles, formally VP of Key Safety Systems

Dave Adkins - Chief of Class 3 Commercial Vehicles, formally Chief Engineer of Izuzu

Raj Pai - Chief Engineer Commercial Vehicles, formally VP of Mahindra

Steve Ilenich - Director of Commercial Vehicles Quality

Dongyeol Kang - Director of Vehicle Program Purchasing

Mohamed Shaib - Director of ADAS

Seungho Choi - Director of Program Management Commercial Vehicles

Commercial Sales, Service and Parts

Paul Loewer - Senior Director, Product Planning and Product Marketing

Matt Gostek - Director, Service and Parts

Bob Sanseverino - Commercial Sales Director – West Region

Lance Buchanan - Commercial Sales Director – Southeast Region

Bollinger, ELMS news

Mullen Automotive is a Southern California-based company that has said it is focused on building the next-generation of EVs entirely in the United States.

Late last year, Mullen Automotive closed on the acquisition of the assets of the defunct Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS) assets in an all-cash purchase valued at $105 million. The acquisition of all IP and inventory was expected to allow Mullen to launch into the commercial market much earlier than previously planned. Upon the completion of final certification, it was anticipated that Mullen will be delivering Class 1 and Class 3 vehicles this year.

The ELMS factory in Mishawaka, which previously produced the Hummer H2 and the Mercedes-Benz R Class vehicles, will be home to the production of the Mullen Five SUV and the Bollinger B1 and B2 SUV platforms.

Taking possession of this plant in its current condition will allow both vehicles to be launched with significantly less capital than previously anticipated and bring forward their respective launch dates, said the company.

“I have been working on this plan for many years, putting in place the strategic and critical enablers to be a dominant competitor in the EV market,” said Michery, “Successfully completing this asset acquisition moves Mullen into an all-new position with IP, plants, and product platforms that no other competitor can offer to both retail and commercial customers. We have everything we need to launch the Mullen and Bollinger EVs product lineup.”

Mullen Automotive is a majority owner of Bollinger Motors, which has been working on all-electric platforms and chassis cabs for commercial vehicles in Classes 4 through 6.