Tech giant Foxconn is aiming to fight Tesla and established brands with a range of new Foxtron electric cars
Taiwanese company Foxconn, known for its tech manufacturing, has amped up its serious push into the electric car space under its automotive brand Foxtron.
The Foxtron Model B, a tall hatchback set to rival the Tesla Model Y, and an electric ute called the Model V, have both been announced in the lead up to the brand’s parent company Hon Hai’s ‘Tech Day’ for 2022.
It means the company now has a five-vehicle model line-up, with all of them using the same naming convention as Tesla, and previously used by Ford.
On the Tech Day last year, the company revealed its first three electric vehicles. Not long after this, Foxconn announced it had agreed to purchase a manufacturing facility in the USA from light electric truck company Lordstown Motors, where it says it has capacity to produce up to 500,000 vehicles.
Joined by the Foxtron Model B and Model V are the first two passenger cars revealed by the brand, and an electric city bus called the Model T.
The two passenger cars are the Model C and Model E, an electric SUV and a flagship luxury sedan respectively, which share the same platform as the rest of the Foxtron line-up.
While details for the two newer models are yet to be confirmed, the Model C SUV is 4640mm long and has seating for up to seven with two folding seats in the rear, while its range is claimed to be 700km and 0-100km/h acceleration is just 3.8 seconds.
The Model E, which was designed in collaboration with Italian design firm Pininfarina, boasts a slightly longer 750km range and, thanks to an output of roughly 560kW, a supercar-rivalling 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 2.8 seconds.
Underpinning the model range is a platform developed by Foxconn called MIH, which the company hopes to become the “Android system of the EV industry” in that it will form the technological basis from which other brands can build electric vehicles. Foxconn hopes to “encourage more companies to be involved in the development of EVs which will result in exponential growth for the industry”.
While production for Foxtron models has yet to power up, the company is working with other brands to produce electric cars, much the same way Foxconn works with companies like Apple to produce the iPhone.
Earlier this month, Foxconn announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with EV brand INDIEV, which will lead to the INDI One prototype vehicles being manufactured at Foxconn’s aforementioned Ohio plant.
Also soon to be underway is production of another company’s EV, the Fisker Pear, via a partnership that was announced back in February 2021.
As the plant is limited to a 500,000 vehicle capacity, and production on its own models hasn’t yet commenced, market information about the Foxtron range isn’t likely to be forthcoming any time soon, although CarsGuide has contacted the brand for any information regarding right-hand drive production or Australian plans.
