Foxconn Unveils Electric SUV for US Market
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – By the end of next year, Foxconn plans to have its electric Model C sport utility vehicle in production for the North American market, the company announced.
Taiwan-based Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Technology Group, unveiled the slightly revised model during Hon Hai Tech Day in Taipei last week.
“The Model C, designed together with our American partners specifically for the U.S. market, will be launching at the end of 2025,” said Andy Lee, CEO of Foxtron, a subsidiary of Foxconn. “Stay tuned.”
Lee said the North American version of the vehicle will include several alterations from the Taiwanese vehicle. He did not identify which partners Foxtron was working with in the U.S.
Among the revised features include expansion of the vehicle’s S-duct design to reduce wind drag, new styling and steering wheel and a new user interface, or UI, design, Lee said.
Lee added that the U.S. version of Foxtron’s Model C has adopted a North American Charging Standard, enabling it to access charging infrastructure across the country.
The Model C, a family SUV that first debuted in 2021, was officially launched during the first quarter of this year in Taiwan, Lee said.
“The market response was very good,” Lee said. “It quickly has become one of the best-selling electric cars in Taiwan.”
In August, the vehicle was souped up for success as the first ever EV entrant in the 2,100-kilometer Asia Cross Country Rally, Southeast Asia’s largest motorsport rally.
Foxconn is best known as the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, especially for the iPhone.
This business model has translated into vehicle production, as its Contract Design and Manufacturing Service invites automotive OEM customers to choose their favorite reference designs to customize their cars. Under Foxconn’s modular platform, hardware modules are flexibly combined, and the software-defined architecture is continuously updated.
“Partners from around the world are coming to seek opportunities for collaboration,” Lee added.
It is not clear whether the North American version of the Model C would be manufactured in the U.S. or at a plant overseas.
Foxconn operates a manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which it purchased from Lordstown Motors Corp. in 2022. That factory today manufactures the MK-V, an electric autonomous-option tractor designed by Monarch Tractor.
Last week, Jun Seki, Foxconn’s strategy chief for EVs, told Bloomberg TV that it would likely take years to build up electric vehicle production at the Lordstown facility.
“We want to be very smart investment-wise, development-wise,” Seki told the news agency. Bloomberg also quoted the executive as saying a “fast move may be dangerous,” as global EV sales continue to slow.
He said given the market, it would likely take five years to fully build out the Lordstown factory.
The Model C SUV would be the first Foxtron EV designed especially for the U.S. market. The Foxconn subsidiary has also announced a sedan, crossover, a luxury EV, a city bus and a minibus for the Asian market.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
