The country may still be grappling with the pandemic and, now, the question of whether there could be a second lockdown, but the concept of the summer road trip hasn’t been lost on a couple of local automakers.
First up is Vantas, a new automotive brand that emerged earlier this year when it was announced Irvine-based HAAH Automotive Holdings was created to distribute, sell and service vehicles under the brand name in North America.
The Vantas vehicles are being built on the framework of Exceed, a brand under the fold of China-based automaker Chery Automobile.
HAAH’s plan is to debut Vantas with what it’s calling a “premium” SUV in the Vantas VX. Full details have yet to be released, but plans call for the SUV to make its debut as early as the end of 2021.
That’s a deadline fast approaching.
HAAH began a search in February for an already-erected manufacturing plant in the U.S. to be the home of its production facility.
Fast forward to this month and HAAH is now sending its engineers out to test the vehicle, driving it through multiple states to see how it fares in various climates and altitudes.
HAAH Executive Vice President for Sales Bob Pradzinski, former head of national sales for Fountain Valley’s Hyundai Motor America Inc., noted the tests mark the “next phase” for the vehicle and it will “provide in-market, real world experience that is invaluable for our engineering, sales and marketing teams.”
Marketing has its work cut out for it with Vantas, which is still a relative unknown in the North American market and is up against several vehicle startups attracting plenty of their own attention.
Rivian Automotive LLC is a good example.
The Irvine-based automaker is several paces ahead in the brand building department, with a marketing strategy that seems to be ticking all the boxes when it comes to creating a name, with experiential retail showrooming, like that of the plans Rivian has for South Coast Cinemas in Laguna Beach; in-store meet and greets (pre-COVID) in places such as Mill Valley’s Proof Lab Surf Shop; and a healthy social media presence.
The electric automaker counts 213,000 Instagram followers. Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has his own following of 8,691.
The latest from Rivian’s marketing team is a new video, called the “Long Way Up” debuting Sept. 18 on Apple TV+ in which the automaker enlisted Ewan McGregor and the actor’s friend Charley Boorman. Rivian’s R1T truck (which starts at $69,000) is the featured vehicle in the video, which was taken on a 13,000-mile trip from Patagonia to Los Angeles.
Both the Rivian R1T and R1S, an SUV, are set for a 2021 release.
It certainly helps the automaker’s backed by more than $5 billion from big names such as Amazon, Ford Motor Co. and Cox Automotive, and it’s also muscling out space for itself in the buzzy electric segment.
