So International
From Wikislippy
So International was a Korean based manufacturing operation and was owned by Am-Kor. So International was founded in 1951 as So Bicycle Shop. So International was merged with Jayatsu Industrial and is now known as Jayatsu Manufacturing.
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History
When Kim Young So was young, he began working at a local bicycle repair shop in Seoul, South Korea. When AdY Bikes came up for sale, Kim Young So purchased the shop. In 1954, the name was changed to So Bicycle Shop. In 1957, Kim Young So purchased Lee's Bikes, a second bicycle shop.
In 1965, Kim Young So purchased a small local bicycle parts manufacturer. In 1971, Kim Young So built a new modern facility with the bicycle shop and manufacturing facility in one building outside Seoul, South Korea. In 1972, So Bicycle Shop was officially renamed So Manufacturing.
In 1980, So Motors was created.
Kim So passed away in August 1997. His company was passed onto his son. His son had no interest in the company and soon began looking for someone to buy the company. So Bicycle Manufacturing and Repair was purchased by rival JT Manufacturing and Construction in 1997 and merged with JT Bicycles. The remaining parts of So Manufacturing were purchased in 1998 by Jay Roberts.
In 2005, So International was purchased by Jayatsu Industrial. In 2009, Jatatsu and So International merged together and formed Jayatsu Manufacturing and So Motors was renamed Jayatsu Motors.
So Motors
See Jayatsu Motors
So Motors was created in 1980 as an experiment. It was a test to see if So Manufacturing could create a successful car. The car was the So Shi-Tei. The Shi-Tei was a compact car powered by the Si4. The Shi-Tei turned out to be a minor success until 1987 when sales began to fall. Production of the Shi-Tei stopped in January 1994.
The Shi-Tei was brought back into production in 2002 by J. Robert Motors (known in Korea as So Motors). So Motors turned the Shi-Tei into a minor success. Outside of Korea, the car is known as the So Car. So Motors announced an electric version in 2008 named the So EC-1. In 2009, So Motors made a deal with Richards Motors to sell cars in North America.
Today
In 2009, So International was merged with Jayatsu. Soon after, So Motors was renamed to Jayatsu Motors.
