Foxconn to build factories in the USA and Thailand
Contract manufacturer Foxconn plans to build factories for electric cars in the USA and Thailand in 2022 – production is scheduled to start in 2023. Later, plants could also follow in Europe.
The company made the announcement in a conference call for investors. According to Foxconn CEO Liu Young-way, Hon Hai, as the company is actually called, is in talks about possible locations for plants in Europe. However, neither the regions in Europe under discussion nor the locations of the plants in the USA and Thailand were mentioned.
Among other things, Foxconn wants to build vehicles for Fisker in the US plant – both companies had announced a cooperation on the so-called ‘Project Pear’ in February, in the context of which a “new type of vehicle” is to be created. Production is to start here by the end of 2023.
While Foxconn, as mentioned, did not name any possible locations, the Japanese business newspaper Nikkei claims to have learned that the company is in talks with three US states. Among them is Wisconsin. Foxconn already has an electronics factory in Wisconsin, which according to the announcement was supposed to create 13,000 jobs – the project was announced under former President Donald Trump and was supposed to bring investments of ten billion dollars to the region… However, as Reuters reported in April, only 1,454 people are employed there so far, as Foxconn has slashed the project. It is possible that the existing plant could also accommodate electric car production.
The factory in Thailand is to be built as part of a joint venture with the oil company PTT, according to Foxconn – Foxconn and PTT have already been developing a joint electric car platform since early June. According to CEO Liu, up to 200,000 cars are to be built at the plant. However, Liu did not specify for which customers these vehicles are intended. They are to be built first for the local market – Thailand does not want to allow any new combustion cars after 2035 – and only later exported to other Southeast Asian countries.
Hardly any further details are known about the European plans. Liu only stated in the conference that the considerations were part of the global electric car strategy. There is already a cooperation with the Stellantis Group, but this involves the development of digital services and infotainment systems – in other words, Foxconn’s know-how in consumer electronics. Vehicle production is not part of this cooperation.
Foxconn is the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and produces, among other things, the iPhone on behalf of Apple. In the meantime, however, the company wants to become more independent of pure consumer electronics and is building up electric car production as a further mainstay, since a lot of know-how from consumer electronics can also be used in the vehicles. Last year, Foxconn presented its own electric car platform MIH.
0 Comments