Image source: Visual China
Blue Whale News July 31 (Reporter Li Zhuoling) At a time when Foxconn’s investment of 1 billion to build a new headquarters building in Zhengzhou is a hot topic, its car-making progress has also attracted attention from the outside world.
A few days ago, Blue Whale News learned that Shandong Fujikang Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fujikang"), jointly held by Foxconn subsidiaries and Geely Holding subsidiaries, has been cancelled.
Subsequently, the reporter checked the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and showed that the cancellation date of Foxconn was May 17 this year, but the column for the reason for cancellation was blank. The Blue Whale reporter called the two contact numbers listed in the company's annual report on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, but one was empty. The owner of the other phone said, "The company has changed its number, and many people have called this number before." Find. "
Picture source: Screenshot of the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System
Regarding the reasons for the cancellation of the joint venture, as well as whether the cooperation is still ongoing and the follow-up situation, Blue Whale News sent interviews to Geely and Foxconn respectively. As of press time, No response.
had planned to OEM for ff, but people familiar with the matter said there was no real progress in the cooperation.
The hand-in-hand between Foxconn and Geely can be traced back to 2021.
According to Geely Holding Group’s official announcement on January 13, 2021, it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Foxconn Technology Group. The two parties will establish a joint venture to provide OEM production and customized consulting services to global automobile and travel companies, including but not limited to Complete automobiles or parts, intelligent control systems, automobile ecosystems, and the entire electric vehicle industry chain and process, etc.
At that time, Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holdings, and Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn Technology Group, both attended and witnessed the signing ceremony. This shows that both parties attach great importance to this cooperation.
According to the agreement, both parties in the joint venture company hold 50% of the shares. The board of directors of the joint venture company consists of five directors. Among them, Foxconn appoints three directors, Geely Holdings appoints two directors, and the chairman is appointed by Foxconn. At that time, the industry believed that Foxconn might occupy a dominant position in the joint venture.
A few days later, on January 29, Geely Holdings announced that it had signed a framework cooperation agreement with faraday future (hereinafter referred to as "ff") founded by Jia Yueting. The two parties planned to cooperate in the fields of technical support and engineering services, and discussed the cooperation between Geely and Faraday Future. Foxconn's joint venture provides the possibility of foundry services.
The cooperation between Geely and Foxconn was launched at the end of December of the same year. According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, on December 27, 2021, Futaihua Industrial (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Foxconn, and Zhejiang Geely Industrial Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Geely Holding, jointly held Foxconn in Shandong Zibo was formally established with a registered capital of 100 million yuan.
However, after the implementation of this cooperation, the interaction between the two parties in public has been almost zero. Most outside attention and reports on the progress of the cooperation between Geely and Foxconn still remain at the establishment stage of this joint venture. And this joint venture also faced the fate of being canceled less than three years after its establishment.
An insider close to Foxconn’s industry chain who has witnessed this cooperation told Blue Whale News that there should be no substantial progress in the cooperation between the two parties, but the specifics are not clear.
When Blue Whale News inquired about Fujikang’s 2023 annual report on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, it was found that the company’s two major shareholders had paid in an investment of 2 million yuan each on May 16, 2022; but in April 2024 On March 26, it was shown that the aforementioned shareholder and investment information had been deleted.
However, whether the cancellation of the joint venture means that the two parties have officially announced their breakup remains to be officially announced.
has repeatedly joined hands with other car companies
It is worth noting that in addition to Geely, Foxconn has also previously announced that it is joining forces with Byton Motors, Fisker, a new American car-making force, and Yulon. However, the subsequent life of Byton Motors and Fisker was not easy.
In January 2021, Byton signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Foxconn Technology Group and Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone, hoping to work together to promote the mass production of Byton's new energy vehicle products.According to the plan at that time, this cooperation strives to achieve mass production of Byton's first new energy vehicle by the first quarter of 2022, accelerating the promotion of Byton Motors to become a first-line brand of new energy vehicles as soon as possible.
However, in July 2021, Byton Motors-affiliated companies were filed for bankruptcy and reorganization. According to Automotive Business Review, citing foreign media sources at that time, Foxconn had stopped its electric vehicle project in cooperation with Byton as Byton's financial situation continued to deteriorate. At the same time, according to its understanding, Foxconn had gradually withdrawn from the Byton team as early as July of that year due to inconsistent concepts between the two parties.
As for its cooperation with fisker, it was also reached in 2021. According to the cooperation memorandum at that time, the two parties will work together to create fisker brand electric vehicle products, which are expected to be officially mass-produced in the fourth quarter of 2023. It is reported that the product of the cooperation will be the brand's second electric vehicle after fisker launched the ocean SUV in the fourth quarter of 2022.
However, according to comprehensive foreign media reports in June this year, Fisker filed for bankruptcy. After burning a lot of money trying to increase the production of its only product, ocean SUVs, the company hopes to save its business by selling assets and restructuring debt. In March this year, fisker was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
Of course, these obviously have not hindered Foxconn’s “dream of building cars.”
At the Hon Hai Technology Day held in October 2021, Foxconn announced three self-developed electric vehicles for the first time: model c SUV, model e sedan and model t electric bus. Officials said at the time that this demonstrated its determination to become a global new car manufacturing force. The above three vehicles all use the new pure electric vehicle brand-foxtron, which belongs to Honghua Advanced Company, a joint venture between Foxconn and Yulon.
Regarding the current progress of Model C and other models, people familiar with the aforementioned industry chain told Blue Whale News that it was just a prototype as a verification of (Foxconn’s) vehicle manufacturing capabilities. "Honghua Advanced should be selling well in Taiwan. Model means model. It's not just the name of the car as it is ridiculed on the Internet. ABC is a different level." Previously, Foxconn's aforementioned car model had been ridiculed for its reputation. Sila model series.
According to public reports, Terry Gou has repeatedly stated that OEM electric vehicles would be a piece of cake for Foxconn. "The Apple car is just an iPhone with four wheels. Since we can build iPhones, why can't we build electric cars? At the aforementioned press conference, Terry Gou also bluntly said, "Foxconn can play a key role in electric cars."
is deeply involved in Zhengzhou, Is Foxconn’s “car-making road” expected to accelerate?
It is worth noting that Foxconn is intending to transform from a manufacturing service company to a platform solution provider.
At Hon Hai Technology Day in 2023, Foxconn announced the launch of a new electric vehicle solution. At that time, Foxconn Chairman Liu Yangwei made a special statement to traditional car manufacturers that were preparing to enter the electric vehicle field, "Foxconn's cdms (commissioned design and manufacturing services) business model provides complete and customized solutions for the automotive industry. This business model can significantly reduce investment costs and shorten time to market, both of which are key factors that determine the success of future electric vehicles. "
According to news from Foxconn in October last year, through Foxconn's cdms business model, the effective use of modular components in the supply chain, supplemented by a platform-based development strategy, will speed up the development of electric vehicles. At that time, Foxconn There are already 14 potential customers in contact, and a total of 23 development projects are under implementation.
On July 22 this year, the signing ceremony of the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement between the Henan Provincial Government and Foxconn Technology Group to Accelerate the Promotion of New Business Projects" was held in Zhengzhou. Foxconn announced that it will start from scratch in Henan and accelerate its "3+3" new business investment. To this end, Foxconn will invest in the construction of a new business headquarters building in Zhengzhou, with a total investment of approximately 1 billion yuan in the first phase of the project. It is reported that focusing on the implementation of the "3+3" strategy, Foxconn will focus on new energy vehicle trial production centers, solid-state batteries and other projects in the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Comprehensive Experimental Zone in the near future.
Officially stated that the aforementioned new energy vehicle trial production center project will plan to build a high-end demonstration production line for new energy vehicles, create a display platform that provides manufacturing services to well-known domestic and foreign automobile brands, and a factory in the vehicle field, and prepare for the subsequent mass production of new energy vehicles. Laying the foundation, the goal is to build Zhengzhou Airport into the core production base of Foxconn's new energy vehicle segment.
Regarding the current car manufacturing situation and progress, Blue Whale News also interviewed Foxconn. Relevant sources said that for current relevant content, you can pay attention to the information published on the group’s official website.
It remains to be seen whether Foxconn’s “dream of building cars” can be further accelerated by its deep roots in Zhengzhou.
