Taiwanese electronics giant now has a factory in Ohio, but will we see these EVs on sale stateside?
- Hon Hai Technology Group reveals two electric prototypes dubbed Model B and Model V (pictured above), showcasing its EV development.
- The electronics giant, better known as Foxconn, now operates the Lordstown, Ohio, factory that it purchased from Lordstown Motors earlier this year.
- Foxconn aims to be a developer and contract manufacturer of EVs, rather than an automaker selling vehicles under its own brand.
Foxconn is the new owner of the Lordstown, Ohio, EV plant, and has plans to produce Fisker EVs at the site after starting Endurance electric pickup production earlier this month. But the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturing giant also has EVs of its own.
Foxconn took the wraps off not one but two EV concept prototypes this week, plans for which were previewed and hinted earlier this year.
The company reveals the Foxtron Model B subcompact crossover, based on its MIH (Mobility in Harmony) open platform, promising a range of 450 kilometers (280 miles) and a slippery drag coefficient of 0.26. With an overall length of about 169 inches, the crossover is meant to be a personalized urban car for the younger generation, as the company puts it.
The Model B concept shares the MIH platform with the Model C—a larger crossover revealed about a year ago, promising a range of almost 700 kilometers (435 miles)—and which has now advanced to the production-ready status, albeit under Taiwan’s Luxgen brand.
Foxconn also gave the automotive world a first glimpse of the Model V electric pickup, featuring styling a bit different from the other two passenger models.
“The Model V is the result of the vertical integration of Hon Hai and MIH alliance partners,” Foxconn noted. “It is the first electric pickup designed and developed in Taiwan. With a payload of up to 1 ton and a towing capacity of 3 tons, its dynamic performance has the ability to traverse all terrains.”
The company did not reveal any technical details of the Model V, though it is clearly aimed at a lifestyle audience with a spacious cabin, an off-road friendly suspension height, and a rather modest cargo bed.
Foxconn revealed the small Model B crossover in prototype form, which shares a platform with the Model C crossover we saw a year ago.
Hon Hai Technology Group
Although the Model B and Model C prominently feature Foxtronn badging up front, these EVs aren’t really meant to be offered as such to buyers. That’s because Foxconn is advertising its vehicle development and manufacturing capabilities to automaker partners, aiming to be a contract manufacturer of EVs. So we won’t see these vehicles under the Foxtron brand at all but rather as something else, as in the case of the Luxgen brand.
This means Foxconn is actually looking for partner automakers to provide the branding, marketing, and everything else. As such, its role in the EV development is roughly analogous to Magna Steyr’s as in the case of the Sony prototypes or the Fisker Ocean, with a few differences.
“Hon Hai’s vision has always been to produce complete solutions to bellwether customers and provide for comprehensive intelligent lifestyles. We used to make PCs and mobile phones. From now and into the future, we will create EVs,” said Hon Hai Chairman and CEO Young Liu. “In the EV industry, we are resolute about CDMS: This means contract design and manufacturing service.”
It remains to be seen which automakers (if any) will eventually bring these models to market, with the Lordstown factory in Ohio certainly offering Foxconn an opportunity for stateside production. Foxconn appears to have made plenty of progress in the automotive sphere in a short span of time, though without the goal of becoming an actual retail brand.
Jay Ramey Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum.
Keyword: iPhone Maker Foxconn Reveals EV Truck of Its Own