iPhone manufacturer Foxconn confirmed to build EV plant in Thailand in 2022
Hans · Aug 13, 2021 12:09 PM
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Taiwan’s Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, the contract manufacturer that makes your iPhone and many more consumer electronics products, has confirmed that it will be building an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant in Thailand and USA in 2022.
Both plants are scheduled to begin operations in 2023, with the Thailand plant being a joint venture with Thailand’s state-owned petroleum company PTT.
This is just a sample model to present MIH platform's possibilities, not the actual production car
This follows June’s MoU signing between Foxconn and PTT. PTT will contribute its knowledge of the Thailand market, distribution network, and customer reach while Foxconn will contribute its expertise in manufacturing.
However, Foxconn did not reveal the specific location of where the Thailand plant will be built.
Foxconn wants to be the Android of EVs
"Other than in the U.S. and Thailand, we are also in talks with possible locations in Europe too as part of our global EV footprint strategy," added Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, during yesterday’s earnings call to its investors.
Foxconn has ambitions to expand beyond contract manufacturing of consumer electronics products for Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, HP, Xiaomi, and to venture into EVs.
The company has already developed an open source EV architecture called MIH EV Open Platform.
Foxconn said the Thailand plant will initially cater only for the Thai market but exports to neighbouring countries within the ASEAN trade bloc are part of its mid-term plan.
In addition to that, Japan’s Nikkei Asia reports that the planned annual capacity for the Thailand plant will be between 150,000 to 200,000 cars.
To be clear, there will not be any Foxconn-branded EV, in the same way Foxconn-made iPhones carry the Apple brand.
The US plant will be used to build EVs for Fisker, but the Foxconn have yet to reveal who is the customer for vehicles made at its Thailand plant.
Foxconn has established an EV-manufacturing subsidiary called Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co., Ltd.
Last month, Foxtron has started discussions with Japanese electric motor manufacturer Nidec to form a joint venture for the development and production of e-axles for EVs.
Foxtron has also signed an MoU with Chinese bus manufacturer San-Ti Group's North-Star International Company to build EVs buses based on a commercial vehicle variant of the MIH EV Open Platform.
The electric bus will the first vehicle to be produced based on the MIH platform.
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
