Foxconn Technology Group took the wraps off two new electric vehicles on Tuesday, prototypes that embody the iPhone maker’s ambitions of carving out a slice of a market now dominated by Tesla Inc.
The company, whose main listed arm is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., unveiled the Model B crossover vehicle and Model V pickup truck at its event in Taipei. Foxconn founder Terry Gou, 72, introduced the Model B by driving it onto the stage. The pickup will be produced in Taiwan, Thailand and the US, Hon Hai Chairman Young Liu said.
Foxconn is hoping to replicate the way it muscled into electronics assembly to become the biggest manufacturing partner for Apple Inc. and other global brands. It’s aiming to build clients’ electric vehicles from the chassis up, with no plans to sell vehicles under its own brand.
The Taiwanese company also said it is developing its own solid-state batteries.
Foxconn created Foxtron Vehicle Technologies in 2020 as a venture with Taiwan’s Yulon Group. It then embarked on a flurry of activity, buying Lordstown Motors Corp.’s Ohio plant to create a US base, launching an open EV platform and inking a manufacturing deal with startup Fisker Inc.
Demand for EVs is soaring as consumers and governments embrace the technology, spurring a worldwide shift for the tech and automotive industries.
But Foxconn’s trying to get into a field already crowded by aggressive rivals from Tesla to China’s Nio Inc. and BYD Co. to Xpeng Inc. It’s also attracting new entrants including Xiaomi Corp.
One major point of uncertainty is how the Biden administration’s recently unfurled raft of restrictions on chip exports to China will shake up the global EV industry.
Xpeng has warned that the curbs on chips could potentially hammer Chinese EV makers.