United Kingdom-based company ENSO is still looking for a place in the United States to build a plant that will solely make electric vehicle (EV) tires.
The company initially announced plans to build the plant last June.
Founded in 2016, ENSO describes itself as “an independently held, privately owned company backed by venture capital investors, focused solely on developing and delivering advanced, low-emission tire technology for electric vehicles.”
ENSO has been partnering with “independent tire manufacturers,” including Algeria-based Iris Tyres, to develop EV tires for other geographies and believes the time is right for to build an all-EV tire plant in the U.S.
“There are a couple of reasons for this,” ENSO CEO Gunnlaugur Erlendsson recently told MTD.
“The U.S. is one of the biggest markets for tires. Aftermarket demand is growing particularly well when it comes to EV tires. And we want to make a product in America that on one hand, helps reduce energy consumption ... and two, we want to make these tires more durable, so they last longer.”
ENSO is in talks with “about 10 states” - including Texas, Georgia, Nevada and Colorado - “that have shown the most interest” in hosting the plant, said Erlendsson.
When it comes to distribution, ENSO has “a hybrid model. We’ll sell directly to fleets, directly to wholesalers and directly to (tire) dealers. We're open to talking to everyone. We want to work with the industry to deliver cost-effective solutions to (EV) drivers.”
‘A wider audience’
The first phase of ENSO’s U.S. plant “is set to be operational from late-2027 and will ramp up to full capacity in around 12 months,” according to ENSO officials.
Initially, the plant is expected to produce five million units annually.
The factory will be ENSO’s first fully owned and operated manufacturing facility. Right now, “we’re like Apple,” said Gunlauggur. “We design our products, but we don’t manufacture them ourselves. We’re still a small company.
“What we’ve been able to do, however, is we have backing from U.S. investors who understand the performance our products will deliver. We’ve already seen strong interest in funding our facility. Capital is the easiest part of the equation. The key is to figure out where in America we want to find a home.”
Gunlauggur told MTD that ENSO “is still looking at the final budget for the factory. Last year, we announced we were looking at (building) a $500 million plant, but due to high interest rates, we’re looking at a $700 million to $750 million capex to build the plant in its first phase.”
ENSO is not concerned about the Trump administration's position on EVs and how this could impact demand for the vehicles, according to Gunlauggur.
"What we’re doing is bringing our existing technology to a wider audience. I think that in the current climate, it made no sense to consider building our product anywhere else than in the U.S.
“We want to make (EV) tires that last longer” via “better materials, better manufacturing and better technology. A factory in the U.S. would do this at scale.”
