Faraday launches on the US stock market
Faraday Future has completed its long-announced IPO. The electric car start-up now announced the listing of its shares on Nasdaq. The IPO was carried out via a merger with SPAC Property Solutions Acquisition.
The proceeds of around one billion US dollars are to be used primarily to begin deliveries of the first FF 91 model within twelve months. Faraday Future had already set this as a goal in January. For the electric car itself, Faraday has now also announced a “Futurist Alliance Edition” limited to 300 units as well as a “Futurist Edition”, which can be reserved for 5,000 and 1,500 dollars respectively. More on that in a moment.
Faraday calls the stock market debut a prelude to the “final sprint towards production”. As part of the Nasdaq listing, the company has renamed itself “Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc.” and its ticker symbol is ‘FFIE’. This is intended to reflect that FF is not only an EV company, but also an internet and technology company, an AI product company, a software company and a user ecosystem company.
The introduction of the FF 91 is to be flanked by the launch of two limited series. The 300 units of the “FF 91 Futurist Alliance Edition” are to guarantee drivers several user privileges, including special memberships and an announced product upgrade. The company does not provide more specific details about the second limited edition – the FF 91 Futurist Edition.
The FF 91 Futurist is said by the manufacturer to have 1050 hp (around 772 kW) and a 130 kWh battery pack with “immersive liquid cooling”. The sprint from zero to 60 mph is claimed to be 2.4 seconds. The rear wheels are driven independently by two motors, according to Faraday. In total, the model has three motors on board.
For comparison: the technical data sheet of the FF 91 read as follows in 2018: 534 kW was promised for the basic version with two electric motors, 801 kW for the top variant with three motors. Faraday also announced three battery sizes: 86.7 kWh, 108.3 kWh and 130 kWh. The latter battery size is now found in the FF 91 Futurist.
In keeping with the renaming to “Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc.” and the accompanying emphasis on digitalisation and AI in car manufacturing, the company also emphasises the smart features of the FF 91, including an internet connection at “the speed of light”, an intelligent internet system in the rear, an in-vehicle video conferencing system or digital facial recognition.
“The FF 91 Futurist Alliance Edition and FF 91 Futurist models represent the next generation of intelligent internet electric car products (…),” explains Faraday full-bodied. “They are not only high-performance EVs, all-round cars and ultimate robotic vehicles, but also the third internet habitat.” The aim, he says, is to create “the ultimate user experience and a complete ecosystem”.
In January, the company had additionally announced plans to complement the FF 91 with the FF 81 and FF 71 models, scheduled to launch in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Furthermore, the introduction of a delivery vehicle for the “last mile” is planned for 2023. Production is to take place both at the factory in Hanford, California, and in cooperation with a “leading contract manufacturing partner in South Korea”. Faraday Future is also rumoured to be exploring the possibility of additional production capacity in China through a joint venture.
Interesting against this background: Faraday Future has meanwhile signed a framework agreement for cooperation with Geely. According to information from January, the Chinese car company wants to acquire a minority stake in Faraday Future as part of the IPO and offer technical support to the Californian start-up. However, Faraday did not comment on this in the current announcement.
0 Comments