Harbinger Motors Leases Plant and New HQ Offices in Garden Grove

EV chassis maker Harbinger Motors has leased a 165,200-square-foot plant in Garden Grove, with plans to include a new headquarters.

The Gardena-based firm inked the deal for the industrial and office building at 12821 Knott Street, the Orange County Register reported.

The lease will stretch 88 months, according to the Commercial Observer, which pegged the value of the deal at nearly $30 million.

Brokers Clyde Stauff and Jace Gan of Colliers represented the landlord, Sawtelle-based Rexford Industrial Realty. The real estate investment trust bought the building in 2019 and revamped it with a 45,000-square-foot high bay expansion and 20,000 square feet of offices.

Harbinger Motors, an electric vehicle chassis and axle maker for light- and medium-duty delivery vehicles that look like Fed-Ex and UPS trucks, will employ more than 160 people in technical, design and engineering jobs at the plant.

The company said it expects to scale up its business “significantly” over the next five years, according to the Register. Its first vehicles are expected to roll out later this year, followed by a full production launch next year.

Colliers said the building will undergo extensive renovations, with an added 40,000 square feet of office and engineering space.

OC is also home to electric vehicle maker Rivian, which cut more than 200 jobs earlier this year at sites in Tustin, Irvine and Costa Mesa. The Irvine-based carmaker will open a showroom this year at a former movie theater in Laguna Beach, the Register reported in June.

— Dana Bartholomew