text/Zhang Xinlin
htmlOn September 23, Foxconn announced that it will establish a joint venture with energy company Indika Energy in Indonesia , called "Foxconn Indika Motor", which is responsible for the production of electric car and batteries. In addition, the two sides will explore broader investment cooperation to build a comprehensive electric vehicle ecosystem with other partners. Foxconn will invest US$1.75 million in the joint venture in the early stage, accounting for 40% of the shares.people familiar with the matter revealed that the new joint venture will first focus on developing the vehicle-mounted lithium iron phosphate battery , and will be committed to manufacturing commercial vehicles such as electric buses.
It is understood that Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer. The government actively promotes the development of local battery industry and electric vehicle manufacturing, and has attracted companies such as CATL , LG New Energy. It is reported that Tesla has signed a contract worth about US$5 billion in Indonesia to purchase nickel and other battery materials from Indonesia within the next five years.
Foxconn Chairman Terming Gou once said: "Cars are just four-wheeled iPhone. Since we can build iPhones, why can't we build electric cars?" Establishing a car company is one of the steps in Foxconn's car manufacturing journey.
's "ambition" for car manufacturing began in 2005, when Foxconn spent 370 million yuan to acquire 100% of Taiwan's Antai Electric. The company is one of Taiwan's four major automotive wiring harness factories, mainly producing battery wires and reversing radar and other automotive electronic equipment. Subsequently, Foxconn gradually expanded its business to central control, instrument panel display and other fields.
In 2010, Foxconn successively provided electronic products to traditional auto manufacturers such as Tesla, BMW , Mercedes-Benz , etc. In 2013, Foxconn reached a deal with Tesla to provide an in-car panel for some Model S. In March 2015, Foxconn established a joint venture with Tencent and Harmony Auto to establish Harmony Futeng, which is the predecessor of Byton Auto. For the first time, the business area has been expanded to the entire vehicle. Since then, Foxconn has also invested in CATL and Xiaopeng companies.
, which is unwilling to produce only parts, Foxconn has turned its attention to vehicle production again. On October 18, 2021, Foxconn officially released the pure electric vehicle brand - Foxtron, and also brought three new electric models: the mid-size SUV Model C, the mid-to-large sedan Model E and the electric bus Model, which is scheduled to be launched in 2023. It is worth mentioning that the product name of the new car coincides with Tesla's "Model" series, which has also caused discussion among netizens.
In addition to automobile production, Foxconn is also engaged in the semiconductor track. Previously, Foxconn acquired a 10% stake in Taisic Materials, a subsidiary of Kenmec Group, which produces n-type and semi-insulating SiC substrates for a price of NT$500 million (US$16.76 million). This will provide a stable supply of SiC substrates to the 6-inch fab in Hsinchu Science Park. This move further expanded Foxconn's electric vehicle territory.
As the largest OEM factory of Apple , Foxconn has a powerful product endorsement , and its entry has attracted a lot of attention. The 17-year foundation has allowed Foxconn to have rich experience in auto parts manufacturing, excellent manufacturing technology and a complete industrial chain. Liu Yangwei, chairman of Hon Hai Group , once said that Foxconn has gradually established an electric vehicle supply chain and promised that by 2025, 5% of the world's electric vehicles will adopt Foxconn's design, components, mechanical parts or software, with a revenue scale of US$30 billion, of which 40% of the spare parts are made by Hon Hai Group.
