Taiwanese giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Company, better known as Foxconn, announced plans to begin accepting pre-orders for a product that won’t be confused with anything else it manufactures. Pre-orders for the Model C SUV, with an expected price of under 1 million New Taiwan Dollars (NTD, or less than $38,000) will kick-off on October 18—Foxconn’s Tech Day. The cars will be delivered in the first half of next year. It’s the most visible element of the Apple supplier’s efforts to build itself into a major EV brand.
There’s no denying the need for automotive electric power in a world that hungers for clean, carbon-free energy. Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and Apple's main iPhone supplier, aims to capture around 5% of the EV market share globally by the end of 2025. The company wants to produce between 500,000 and 750,000 EVs per year by the same year.
EV Fleet
Since Foxconn debuted its electric-vehicle (EV) prototypes at the Tech Day event a year ago, its move into EVs may require a tune-up of your knowledge base. Three models are involved: the Model C sports utility recreational vehicle, the Model E sedan, and the Model T electric bus, all developed by Foxtron Vehicles Technologies Co., combined venture between Hon Hai and Taiwan’s biggest carmaker, Yulon Motor Company.
Jointly developed with Italian design firm Pininfarina SpA, the Model E sedan offers a power output of about 750 hp, 0- to 100-km acceleration in 2.8 seconds, and a 750-km range (435 miles) to address the range anxiety of most EV users. Mass production of the Model E sedan is planned for 2024.
The Model C, first to be sold, tops out at 700 km and is about a second slower to 100 km. It is 4.64 meters long with a wheelbase of 2.86 meters and offers 5+2 seating for people plus storage space. The SUV has a low 0.27 drag coefficient, according to Foxtron.
The Model C and Model E initially will be sold by the Yulon-affiliated Luxgen Motor Co. and China Motor Corp. brands, according to Hon Hai Technology Group chairman Young Liu. Yulon Motors also manufactures Mitsubishi and Nissan cars for its home market.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxtron Vehicle Technologies, and San-Ti Group recently held a ceremony in Kaohsiung Taiwan marking the delivery of Foxtron's first Model T electric bus to the Kaohsiung Bus Company, owned by San-Ti Group.
Foxconn’s Long-Range EV Plans
Established in 1974, Foxconn is one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, and the EVs could strengthen the Taiwanese company’s credentials as a serious bidder to produce Apple’s secretive EV product. But the announcement that it will begin to sell its own EVs strongly suggests that Foxconn will be in the EV business with or without Apple.
Moreover, Foxconn is seeking to break out of its manufacturing shell and build its own consumer-facing brand. Last fall, it announced the launch and partner enablement details around software innovations such as Smart Gateway, Smart Cockpit, Smart Autonomous Driving, and other software applications.
The three concept EVs displayed at Foxconn’s 2021 Tech Days event were built on an EV open platform known as MIH. The MIH Alliance is an open standard founded by the company with the aim of allowing Taiwanese EV component makers and others to cooperate with one another.
The MIH Consortium also has an alliance with the Autoware Foundation, the world’s first to offer an open-source autonomous-driving system. The partnership aims to accelerate the development of an integrated solution for autonomous EVs. The alliance between the Autoware Foundation and Foxconn will enable developers to commercialize automotive-grade autonomous-driving solutions that can be scaled through the MIH Open EV Platform.
Foxconn has said it will build EV manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Thailand next year. Over the course of the past year, the company has struck deals to buy the Ohio factory of Lordstown Motors (GM sold its Lordstown Assembly Complex to Lordstown Motors in November 2019 for $20 million), partner with the European car brand Stellantis, and manufacture cars for the Los Angeles–based EV startup Fisker. Foxconn has contracted with Fisker to produce that company’s Pear electric vehicle at the Lordstown plant.