CT&T exec denies automaker is withdrawing from U.S.

We've recently heard reports that claimed that South Korean automaker CT&T is struggling in a pretty serious way. According to the Houston Chronicle, CT&T has "abandoned its pledge to the three states [ Hawaii, Pennsylvania and South Carolina] – without notice – and deserted its new U.S. markets amid financial difficulties." Not so fast, says, Joseph White, chief operating officer of CT&T electric vehicle sales and marketing, who told the New York Times that those claims are erroneous.

In a telephone interview with the Times, White stated:

A lot has changed structurally for us. Our parent company in Korea is now a public company, where it was privately held. Our operation here in the United States has morphed into more of a strategic holding company. We are in the process of adapting to those changes. We are still selling vehicles, delivering them to our customers, and we have significant inventory here – over $5 million worth. In fact, a few days ago in Korea, our parent company just unveiled another new four-passenger low-speed vehicle for our lineup

According to White, CT&T still aims to set up shop somewhere in upstate South Carolina. However, there's no timetable for that and White did admit that CT&T's promised assembly plant in Hawaii and its assembly and distribution sites in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Pennsylvania will "have to be for later on."

The New York Times reports that CT&T United's phones have been disconnected, but business is somehow still being conducted. When prodded by the NYT, White declined to reveal the number of employees working at CT&T and wouldn't disclose the automaker's sales volume. This all seems a bit too fishy to us. You?

[Source: New York Times]