Apple supplier Foxconn unveils electric vehicle prototypes

Foxconn is aiming to build clients’ electric vehicles from the chassis up, with no plans to sell vehicles under its own brand.

Workers in the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province in 2010. Picture: STR/AFP/GettyImages

Apple supplier Foxconn took the wraps off two new electric vehicles, prototypes that embody the iPhone maker’s ambitions of carving out a slice of a market led by the likes of Tesla. 

The company, whose main listed arm is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, unveiled the Model B crossover SUV and Model V pickup truck at its event in Taipei. 

Foxconn founder Terry Gou, 72, introduced the Model B by driving it onto the stage. The pickup will be produced in Taiwan, Thailand, and the US, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu said.

The gorgeous sporty crossover hatchback that got everyone’s attention from the get-go at HHTD22. The official launch video for the MODEL B is here! #EV⁣⁣ #MODELB⁣⁣⁣ #HHTD22 #Foxconn⁣⁣⁣ #Pininfarina #2022HonHaiTechDay⁣⁣⁣ #HonHaiTechnologyGroup pic.twitter.com/rWTptvZDF2

— Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) (@HonHai_Foxconn) October 19, 2022

Foxconn is hoping to replicate the way it muscled into electronics assembly to become the biggest manufacturing partner for Apple and other global brands. It is aiming to build clients’ electric vehicles from the chassis up, with no plans to sell vehicles under its own brand.

“After we announced our plans to build EVs in 2020, many people questioned whether Foxconn can build cars,” said Mr Liu. 

Then when we unveiled three models a year later, everyone thought: ‘Wow, how did they manage to develop three models in just a year?’ 

"That’s the speed we’re operating at.” 

None of the cars Foxconn has unveiled so far are destined to go on sale to consumers, but are reference designs, intended to show off the company’s capabilities to potential big-brand clients. 

Bloomberg