Spyshot: This is Thailand national oil company PTT’s first EV, by Foxconn

These photos leaked on Chinese social media channels reportedly shows the first electric vehicle (EV) by Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Foxconn, which will soon be produced in joint venture factory with Thailand's national oil company PTT.

The maker of Apple’s iPhones has since developed an open-source MIH platform for EVs and established an EV-manufacturing subsidiary called Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co., Ltd.

Pitched as the Android of electric vehicles, Foxconn’s MIH platform will be offered to interested manufacturers looking for a fast-tracked entry into the EV business.

Foxconn has since signed a deal with Thailand’s national oil company PTT to setup a manufacturing plant there. According to this Taiwanese source, this particular unit is built in Europe, by an unidentified supercar company (Foxconn doesn't have a car plant yet).

Also read: Thailand’s national oil company PTT inks USD 2 bil deal to make 50k EVs per year

The undisguised SUV looks very similar to the model shown at Foxconn’s MIH announcement in October 2020.

Both Foxconn and PTT have agreed to invest between USD 1 billion to 2 billion into the joint venture over the next five to six years. Construction of the Thai plant, which PTT says will most likely be located in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor region, will take between two to three years to complete.

When completed, the contract manufacturing plant will produce 50,000 electric vehicles per year in the first phase, before extending to 150,000 cars per year.

Both companies did not say these projections are based on orders from which company but Foxconn has since signed MoUs with Chinese bus manufacturer San-Ti Group's North-Star International Company, as well as the French-Italian-American group Stellantis (Chrysler, Jeep, Fiat, and Groupe PSA – Peugeot and Citroen - which also owns Opel) to build smart cockpits, and EV-specialist Fisker.

Image source: Twitter, @GregKable