Taiwan-based technology company Foxconn is looking forward to coming to India to make electric vehicles which have announced its entry into the electric vehicles field. Days after revealing its first three concept electric vehicles, Liu Young-way, Foxconn Chief Executive, announced the global manufacturing goals of his company.
Foxconn is famous as a contract manufacturer of commodities like the Apple iPhone and launched Model C SUV and Model E saloon, together with Model T bus, on Monday to diversify into the building of electric vehicles. The two cars are built on the Hon Hai EV platform, newly introduced.
Liu said Foxconn is open in countries such as India, Brazil, and other European countries to manufacture electric vehicles.
According to him, the specific plans for Foxconn’s expansion into India or Brazil cannot be revealed due to ‘disclosure limits’ at the present time. Liu said, “Europe will be a bit faster, I agree with that. I can’t tell you where, however.” Foxconn was apparently prepared to engage “indirectly” with German automobile manufacturers.
Described as an “intrinsically optimized electric SUV with a pure electric nature,” the Model C is 4,640mm long, has a 2,860mm wheelbase, and has room for seven passengers. It would allow easy urban navigation and would give priority to indoor storage.
The model C is driven by an electric 134Hp engine connected to a 58kWh battery pack and is reported to accelerate from 0 to 100kph in 3.8sec and offers a 372 miles range (around 595km).
Designed by Pininfarina, Model E is aimed at premium cars with a rear seat design that can be utilized as a mobile office with state-of-the-art technologies such as face recognition and intelligent windows.
The Model E is powered by a 96-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery that has a driving range of 446 miles (around 713km). It is powered by two electric motors, a 201 horsepower (hp) unit at the front and a 536 horsepower one at the rear, for a total power output of around 750 horsepower and a 0-100kph sprint time of only 2.8 seconds.
The Model T, the electric bus with a range of 248 miles (about 397 km) and a maximum speed of 120 km/h, was also announced by Foxconn.
EV manufacturing plans of Foxconn
The company has declared that Yulon Motors from Taiwan is its first customer for the production of electric vehicles but Foxconn has been working on entry into automobile manufacturing.
Last month, the company agreed to pay $230 million for a struggling Ohio startup, Lordstown Motors, in exchange for an automotive manufacturing plant. This gave the company a boost in the areas of automobile assembly capacity, equipment, and manpower. General Motors used to run the facility.
In addition, the corporation made it clear that it does not intend to sell directly to customers under its own brand but rather to automobile customers. “We are no longer the new kid in town,” said Young Liu, Chairman of Foxconn’s flagship unit Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. “We have gradually built an EV supply chain and showcased our EV hardware.”
The company has already entered into an agreement with U.S. start-up Fisker, a maker of electric vehicles, and Thailand’s PTT PCL energy company. The firm has also acquired a US production plant for the production of electric automobiles that was previously owned by Tesla’s rival Lordstown Motors. In August it acquired a chip factory in Taiwan in order to provide future auto chip demand.
In May of this year, Foxconn and the Stellantis Group including automobile manufacturers such as Jeep, Citroën, and others announced that they intend to establish an in-car and connected-car technologies joint venture.
Timing of announcement to enter EV space
One of the largest customers of Foxconn—iPhone maker Apple—has quietly been working on a self-employed automotive project called the Titan project.
Apple has yet to make an official announcement about the project or even choose a manufacturing partner; nevertheless, CEO Tim Cook indicated before that the company has been working on autonomy as a core technology.
In addition, Xiaomi Corp’s CEO Lei Jun, a Chinese smartphone company, said that in the first half of 2024 it is going mass producing its own cars. Xiaomi announced in March that it planned to invest $10 billion over the next ten years in a new electric car subsidiary.
And while the company has formally declared its intention of entering EVs, such as Apple, it still has to be revealed whether it would manufacture the car separately or through collaboration with a manufacturer.
Sources: autocarindia.com
