Hozon New Energy Automobile, an eight-year-old Zhejiang-based electric vehicle maker, startled industry watchers with growing sales of its affordable, spacious SUVs.

Production has begun at a new plant in Huntsville, Alabama, which was built with Toyota Motor at a cost of roughly $2.3 billion

Automaker initially plans to roll out a hybrid version of the sport utility vehicle in Japan with the electric model set to follow next summer