The electric vehicle manufacturer Mullen recently gave me an exclusive chance to check out their new FIVE crossover and pick the brains of Chairman and CEO David Michery, as well as VP of Engineering Marian Petrelecan. Click back to Part 1 of my interview to learn more about the battery tech that could set Mullen apart from the growing EV landscape.
As Michery and Petrelecan explained to me while we checked out the FIVE, Mullen's commitment to sustainability extends to manufacturing facilities and sales, in addition to introducing revolutionary batteries in an attractive package.
A New Facility In Tunica, Mississippi
Mullen will build the FIVE at a facility the firm recently purchased in Tunica, Mississippi. The factory currently measures 124,000 square feet, but Michery explained his plans to rapidly grow that figure to over 1 million square feet on the 100-acre plot of land. Most importantly, the FIVE's manufacturing processes will live up to every electric vehicle owner's eco-friendly priorities.
"We don't want to just say we’re green, we want to go out and be green," he said. "We’re an electric vehicle manufacturer and we’re going to stay true to that. We’re 100% green, not just with the vehicle but even the supply chain. We want to be zero carbon imprint from beginning to end, from A to Z."
That commitment extends to the equipment Mullen will install at Tunica, even to the methods used to construct new buildings.
"To have the most sophisticated, technically advanced green facility in automotive that the world has ever seen. That’s the goal, that's the mandate."
Regulatory Challenges Facing An EV Startup
Part of the reason Michery acquired Mullen and the Coda EV involved regulations governing the entire EV market. Mullen had built sports cars under SB100, while the Coda provided experience with handling the challenges any manufacturer faces.
"More than the aesthetics and the IP that we acquired," Michery explained, "It was the experience that led us to a point where we would understand and know how to handle from A to Z all aspects of producing a car, selling a car, servicing a car, and god forbid, dealing with any potential recalls. And the only way you can do that is with experience."
Michery and Mullen spent time during the Trump Administration applying for Department of Energy loans, both at the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“We were aggressive in our application for an AVTM loan," Michery said. "We applied for that on January 8, 2020, for 450 million dollars and, obviously, we had to re-prepare our application due to the changes that took place in the world because of Covid."
Those efforts focused on the Dragonfly built in partnership with Qiantu, but Mullen as a company has evolved beyond that vehicle during the pandemic.
"Then, we didn’t have a facility," Michery went on. "Today we do. Then, our offering was the Dragonfly, today’s it’s the SUV as well as the Dagonfly and some utility vehicles. We’re in the process of amending our application and we intend on resubmitting that in the near future."
He sounds confident the Department of Energy should look upon Mullen favorably, given that DOE and municipal reps from Tennessee and Memphis attended the FIVE's LA Auto Show debut last year.
Experiencing The FIVE Design In Person
Winning the ZEVA award might also help. And I can report that the FIVE certainly feels more unique in person that it perhaps look in photographs. The overall SUV-coupe design blends a sense of futuristic performance with tried-and-true details, while the interior offers premium appointments including recycled materials and a combination of new-school touchscreens with old-school switchgear. I asked if the approximately eight-inch ride height specifically targeted other more minivan-related designs from the likes of Tesla and Toyota.
"It’s a crossover, not an SUV not a sedan," Petrelecan said. "You can drive it maybe off-road a little bit but our purpose is not to build an off-road vehicle, obviously. We wanted an aggressive, beautiful stance, which we achieved."
Petrelecan also shared more details about the various driveline options that FIVE buyers will get to choose between.
"We offer all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive," he explained. "Rear-wheel drive will be dual-motor in the back, 300 kilowatts. And all-wheel-drive will be dual-motor in the back and another motor in the front, with 200 kilowatts, so we’ll have 500 kilowatts of motors for all-wheel drive.
The highest-spec RS, meanwhile, will use four motors for all-wheel drive, though Petrelecan admitted that how those motors will send power to all four wheels remains in development. Like the Nio EP9, one motor could power each wheel—on the other hand, two motors working together front and rear might better provide motivation and balance. Either way, Michery sounds confident in the FIVE RS's borderline-hypercar performance.
"We’re looking at well over 1,000 horsepower," Michery claimed. "We’re looking at specs of a zero-to-sixty in 1.9 seconds and a top speed of 204 miles per hour."
Transmission Options And Deliveries
I asked Petrelecan whether the FIVE will use a single-speed transmission a la Tesla, or two forward gears like Porsche's Taycan. In replying, he differentiated between the standard FIVE and the high-spec RS.
"The base car will be a one-speed transmission," he said. "Now for the RS, it’s completely different. We are entertaining two and two motors, maybe in the wheels, and definitely will be at least a two-speed transmission. In order to pick up from 150 miles, I think two speeds might not make it, so we’re still under investigation."
Like many manufacturers, Mullen will deliver the highest-spec and highest-priced offering first. Early press drives should begin in July of 2022, though full production sounds likely to result in deliveries predicted for 2024. Pricing for the RS will eclipse $150,000 easily, depending on a long list of potential options.
"The difference between the leather seats or the carbon bucket seat," Michery explained, "You want the carbon buckets, it might be an additional 20 grand. We might have a Mansory RS, so not only will you have a very exotic hypercar but now you’ll have a Mansory body edition and that may be another hundred grand. But you’ll have a car that will rival some of the best high-performance cars out there at a fraction of the price point."
Challenges For Any Manufacturer
Of course, Mullen faces the same production challenges as any manufacturer looking to ramp up electric vehicle deliveries. In addition to pandemic-related supply chain concerns, Mullen needs to secure government funding while expanding the very facilities that will build the FIVE. Michery hopes the experience behind Mullen as a legacy brand and the Coda EV should help his company navigate the complexities, while acknowledging the delays even OEMs encounter these days.
If the promise of running and driving cars by June pans out—as opposed to the show cars that I checked out, each of which cost a cool $1.5 million—at the very least, Mullen should proactively quiet some of the inevitable naysayers and doubters that pop up online to criticize every new EV startup. Consumers can also keep an eye out for Mullen's addition to the expanding EV market.
After speaking with Michery and Petrelecan, I can't wait to drive and experience the FIVE out on the road. In the meantime, they'll stay busy working on a 60-month plan that already includes a larger SEVEN and a smaller THREE to join the FIVE as Mullen grows into a full lineup of all-electric crossover SUVs.
Sources: mullenusa.com, energy.gov, and laautoshow.com.