This Taiwanese Manufacturer Is Going to Produce EVs?

The GM factory that once produced the now-defunct Chevy Cruze is changing hands once again. GM had sold the factory to Lordstown Motors in 2019 and planned to use the factory to build its all-electric pickup truck, known as the Endurance.

Yet Lordstown has had, well, a bit of difficulty getting its EV into production. Top executives have resigned, and the auto company released in a regulatory filing that it does not have enough money to produce the full line of vehicles that were once promised to arrive in mid-October. The Endurance is said to have 600 horsepower and a 250-mile fuel radius and was going to be huge for construction fleet rentals looking to save money on gas. But the 6.2-million square foot plant in Ohio has yet to produce a full fleet of Endurance vehicles.

Enter Foxconn

The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, best known for its iPhone and electronic components production, is paying $230 million to purchase the manufacturing plant from Lordstown Motors and will also purchase $50 million in the auto company's stock. The plan is for Foxconn and Lordstown to partner in creating "scalable electronic vehicle programs." The Taiwanese manufacturer is also rumored to have plans to manufacture Fisker EVs at the Ohio plant as well.

Part of the contract will also allow Foxconn to obtain certain rights regarding future vehicle programs at the Ohio plant, which includes an ability for the manufacturer to explore licensing agreements for other pickup truck programs.

Apple Car?

With Foxconn's ties to Apple, could this create a renewed interest in the Apple Car?

In 2014, Apple began work on "Project Titan," with over a thousand car experts and engineers at a secret headquarters near Cupertino, California. Yet internal disputes and failed leadership have created strife within the project, which has become an afterthought for the electronics giant.

But in December of 2020, rumors swirled about Apple's plans to release a vehicle within the next six years. A source from Reuters has said Apple has its eyes set on 2024, while other analysts believe a car won't likely launch until 2027 at the earliest.

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Apple has yet to reach an agreement with a manufacturing partner to produce the vehicles, and the company was rumored to be in advanced discussions with Hyundai during March 2021. The plan was for production to begin in 2024, yet the discussions fell through.

So the tech giant is still in search of a manufacturing partner, and Foxconn has just entered into the EV sphere with its purchase of the Lordstown plant. And with that, Apple now has a trusted business partner working as a manufacturer in EVs. A trusted business partner that also has control over future vehicle programs at the Ohio plant.

There's no word on whether Apple and Foxconn have something cooking for the future, but it wouldn't be a surprise if some Apple Car rumors begin to surface within the coming months.