Apple supplier Foxconn unveils crossover SUV and pickup truck models to expand EV line-up, challenge the likes of Tesla and BYD

Foxconn aims to build EVs for potential big-brand clients, replicating the way it became the biggest manufacturing partner for Apple

The world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer also said it is developing its own solid-state batteries for EVs

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Foxconn Technology Group founder Terry Gou Tai-ming introduces the company’s Model B electric sport utility vehicle prototype during the annual Hon Hai Tech Day event at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei on October 18, 2022. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Published: 2:41pm, 18 Oct 2022Updated: 2:49pm, 18 Oct 2022

Foxconn Technology Group on Tuesday took the wraps off two new electric vehicles (EVs), prototypes that embody the Apple supplier’s ambition of carving out a slice of a global market led by the likes of Tesla.

The Taiwanese company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, unveiled the Model B crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) and Model V pickup truck at its event in Taipei.

Foxconn founder Terry Gou Tai-ming, 72, introduced the Model B by driving it onto the stage. The pickup truck will be produced in Taiwan, Thailand and the United States, according to Hon Hai chairman and chief executive Liu Young-way.

Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, 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’ EVs from the chassis up, with no plans to sell vehicles under its own brand.

Liu Young -way, chairman and chief executive of Foxconn Technology Group, speaks at the launch of the company’s new electric vehicle prototypes during the annual Hon Hai Tech Day event in Taipei on October 18, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE

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

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