Tesla rival Faraday gets one step closer to building electric cars in Vallejo

Gardena electric car company Faraday Future is now one step closer to establishing a vehicle manufacturing plant in California.

The Vallejo City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to enter into a six-month exclusive negotiating agreement with FF LLC, a special-purpose entity created by Faraday Future to discuss and purchase a 157-acre parcel of land on Mare Island.

The land could house Faraday’s second production facility, business and administrative offices, as well as a customer experience and delivery center, where buyers could pick up their cars.

“It’s going to be a destination and a factory,” said Kathleen Diohep, economic development manager of Vallejo, during the meeting. “It’s going to bring people to Vallejo.”

Faraday broke ground on its $1-billion manufacturing facility in North Las Vegas in April.

Vallejo and Faraday intend to work out details of the plan through these negotiations. If an agreement is reached, those details and the disposition of the property will be brought back to the City Council.

According to the agreement, Faraday will pay the city’s third-party legal and consultant costs and a nonrefundable $200,000 negotiation fee.

In a presentation to the council, Faraday said it chose Vallejo in part because of its proximity to Silicon Valley, location near shipping channels and capable workforce.

“We like the maritime flair, we like the history,” said Dag Reckhorn, Faraday’s vice president of manufacturing, during the meeting. “It will fit very, very nicely into what we want to be.”

Faraday unveiled its first concept car, the Batmobile-like FFZERO1, in January at CES in Las Vegas.

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samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

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