Fraud Charges, Lost Patents: How an Auto Legend’s China Venture Crashed

“Steve Saleen claims that China has stolen 40 years’ worth of intellectual property from him in launching the Saleen brand in China,” reports the site Carscoops. More information from the Los Angeles Times: Saleen’s Chinese backers have accused his business partner of fraud and embezzlement and taken over the company, freezing its accounts and forcing hundreds of employees out of work. Police raided the sprawling new factory emblazoned with Saleen’s name. Two senior executives were detained, and a court order sealed its Shanghai showroom… “What I’m trying to do is to bring to light how American companies will contribute IP, brands and knowhow to the China market — and overnight they will change direction, kick you out and keep the IP,” Saleen said… Whatever the outcome, Saleen’s bid to bring his high-powered cars to China has crashed, leaving the 71-year-old filled with regret. “When it came to taking my brand on a global basis, it really seemed to offer me an opportunity that I could not refuse,” Saleen said. “In hindsight I realize the deal was too good to be true….” Saleen said his experience should convince Washington to enact tougher protections for U.S. investors, deny Chinese firms that steal trade secrets access to capital markets and prohibit the use of Chinese asset valuations that could be subject to manipulation. Carscoops has some more background:
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Saleen claims “the deal was a sham.” According to the racing legend, the joint venture applied for 510 Chinese patents based on his designs, technologies, trade secrets and engineering developments. He adds that most of these patent filings didn’t list him as an inventor. The company, known as Jiangsu Saleen Automotive Technologies (JSAT), unveiled a range of models 12 months ago. Saleen asserts that the government of Rugao is attempting to take over the joint venture now that it has his intellectual property and patents. He claims that the director of corporate affairs for JSAT, Grace Yin Xu, has been missing since June 22 when she entered a government building shortly after refusing to lie to local law enforcement who wanted her to state Saleen’s business partner had provided false information and embezzled money. In addition, the company’s vice president of manufacturing, Frank Sterzer, was allegedly detained for six hours by the authorities. In his op-ed, Saleen states that “China can no longer go unchecked”, citing a 2019 survey that 20 per cent of North American corporations say the People’s Republic has stolen their intellectual property in the past year.