Brilliance Auto Yang was the founding chairman of the Chinese auto manufacturer
Brilliance Auto, and was involved with the company from the 1990s through 2002. While Yang was in control, Brilliance Auto issued a number of
IPOs. These included listing a subsidiary
Brilliance Auto on the
New York Stock Exchange in 1992, the same subsidiary again on the
Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) in 1999, and that same year a takeover of another listed company Shenhua Holdings on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange. In the early 2000s, Brilliance became the biggest maker of minivans in China. In 2001,
Forbes reported that Yang was China's third-richest businessman. In 2002, the Liaoning government seized Yang's stake of $700 million in Brilliance, Yang has distanced himself from Greentech Automotive.
Hybrid Kinetic Motors After leaving China in July 2002, Yang began a
start-up car company in the United States, Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corporation (). While its desire to manufacture in the US did not come to fruition, in the early 2010s the company expressed interest in several
Mainland China production base sites. In 2013 it broke ground for a new facility in the Lianyungang Economic and Technological Development Zone,
Lianyungang prefecture, which it was reported might produce batteries and become operational in 2018. ;2008–09 Mississippi factory plan; litigation for control of the company In 2008, lawyer Xiaolin "Charles" Wang (also known as
Charlie Wang) was a front man for Yeung, working on a proposed $6.5 billion plant. The company planned to raise money from foreign investors through a U.S. program that provides foreign investors with a chance to obtain a visa by investing in a company in the United States. However, Yeung and Wang argued in late 2008 over control of the company. Yeung cut ties with Wang, and a lawsuit between the two was filed in Mississippi in early 2009 with each accusing the other of dubious business practices. Charles Huang, vice chairman of HK Motors, said: "Charlie Wang was a senior executive, an employee of Chairman Yeung's company. He was simply not possible to be qualified as Yeung's business partner as he does not have the capital, business experiences, or managerial experience." GreenTech was born out of the dispute. ;2009 Alabama factory plan As of September 2009 the possibility of producing Hybrid Kinetic vehicles at an undeveloped site near
Bay Minette in
Baldwin County, Alabama, was discussed. Hybrid Kinetic later dropped its Alabama plan due to a funding shortfall in 2009. ;JAC joint venture In 2010, Hybrid Kinetic signed a letter of intent to enter into a
joint venture with Chinese vehicle manufacturer
Jianghuai Automobile, selling parts in China for use in
green technology vehicles. A
Tianjin,
Shandong province, production base was to be complete by 2013. ;2017 Collaboration with Pininfarina A collaboration agreement was entered into by Hybrid Kinetic totaling $68 million with the Italian
Pininfarina design firm for 46 months. According to this agreement, "Pininfarina will support Hybrid Kinetic in the turnkey development of an electric car from the styling concept and development of the vehicle to the engineering development and virtual and physical validation for series production". During this development, some of the vehicles in development included the following: H600 4 Seater Sedan, K550 5 Seater SUV, K750 7 Seater SUV, HK GT 4 Seater GT, K350 4 Seater Sedan, and H500 4 Seater Sedan. ==References==