Apple iPhone assembler Foxconn wants to make EVs like Tesla faster and cheaper

The flamboyant founder of Apple's chief manufacturing partner Foxconn rode to the stage during a Tech Day keynote on one of its new EV models to underscore the importance of the nascent industry for its future business plans. After conquering nearly half of the market for consumer electronics like phones and laptops, Foxconn wants to do the same with electric cars by starting small, at a 5% market share by 2025.

"I hope one day we can do Tesla cars for Tesla," declared Foxconn's current chairman, and added that their "heartfelt hope is that Taiwan can seize this once-in-a-hundred years, rare EV business opportunity" by entering it as a contract manufacturer rather than developing its own brands. Foxconn is currently a chief partner in the MIH (Mobility in Harmony) EV platform joint venture and recent models built on it, like the Luxgen N7, racked up thousands of preorders way before their official release.

Foxconn's founder Terry Gou, who at one point wanted to replace most human workers in his factories with millions of robots, also chimed in as a special guest at the keynote, arriving in a Model C, the Luxgen N7 prototype. The Model C electric SUV, one of the three EVs that will soon be made by Foxconn in mass quantities, has a 434-mile range and a very respectable 0-60 MPH acceleration of 3.8 seconds.

Foxconn is aiming to apply its "48-year-old roots in ICT manufacturing" and "supply chain resilience" of having "global footprint in 24 countries" to slash EV development costs by a third and make design times 50% shorter.

Foxconn already entered the US EV market directly by partnering with Fisker to manufacture its second electric vehicle, the PEAR, in Ohio. Aiming for a sub-US$30,000 price and a development time by 2024, the Fisker PEAR may turn out to be the first showcase of Foxconn's abilities to produce electric cars cheaper and faster than the average EV manufacturer.

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