Zotye Automobile, a Zhejiang-based privately-owned automaker in east China, is planning to launch at least two SUVs on the U.S. market in 2020, local media Detroit News reported on Wednesday.

As auto giant Ford Motor's newest Chinese partner, Zotye is partnering with California-based startup HAAH Automotive Holdings to look beyond its home market and form a new sales distribution company in the United States known as Zotye USA.

The new company, owned by HAAH, will be based in Lake Forest in California. Plans for the dealer network include up to 325 stores nationwide, targeting the top 80 markets in the United States - including Detroit area.

According to the HAAH website, the first Zotye USA model will be its existing T600, which will arrive in the fall of 2020, making it the first Chinese-branded car offered on the U.S. market.

A Ford spokesman said Zotye's plans to enter the U.S. market are unrelated to its joint venture with the automaker on electric vehicles in China for that market, and declined to comment further.