By Yuki Yamaguchi,
Taiwan's electronics giant Foxconn is considering expanding its electric vehicle output globally, setting up production sites where there is demand, the company's newly appointed EV business chief said recently.
"We will do on-site production in principle. We are not thinking of producing at a specific site and shipping products all over the world," Jun Seki, a 61-year-old former Nissan Motor Co. executive, said in an interview with Kyodo News.
Seki, appointed to his current post in February, said India and Japan are among the countries Foxconn is considering entering, adding the company is still undecided on its target markets.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has EV production sites in Taiwan and the United States, including the one in Ohio it acquired from EV startup Lordstown Motors Corp. It also has plans to build a factory in Thailand.
One of Apple Inc.'s main suppliers, Foxconn booked sales of 6.6 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($217 billion) last year. In recent years, it has ventured into the EV business to diversify its revenue source, aiming to take a global market share of 5 percent in the sector by 2025.
The company is focusing on contract manufacturing, taking orders from existing automakers and mass-producing cars on their behalf, just like it makes electronic devices for other manufacturers.
As more companies from other sectors have been entering the automotive industry, Foxconn has received inquiries from firms such as oil producers and steelmakers interested in selling their own EVs, he added.
Foxconn, which still offers a limited number of EV models, is currently producing all-electric buses and plans to deliver battery-driven sport utility vehicles to a Taiwanese customer as early as this year.
The company aims to offer inexpensive cars to tap demand from consumers who cannot afford existing electric vehicles. It will utilize its know-how to lower costs it acquired through electronics manufacturing, Seki said.
"(Current) EVs are too expensive and inconvenient. If these problems are solved, people will shift to EVs," he said, while also adding he hopes to launch an EV priced at around 1 million yen ($7,439).
All-electric vehicles are more expensive than gasoline-powered cars due mainly to costly batteries and state-of-the-art technology such as advanced self-driving. Foxconn will keep its products simple to lower the cost, he said.
"We won't add anything unnecessary to our cars," Seki said.
Seki, who started his career at Nissan in 1986, became vice chief operating officer, the third highest ranking official at the Japanese automaker, in 2019 before joining electric motor maker Nidec Corp. in 2020.
He subsequently became CEO of the company but was demoted to chief operating officer in 2022. He left Nidec shortly after that.
Foxconn announced in January this year that it would welcome Seki as chief strategy officer for electric vehicles.
Related coverage:
Nissan accepts resignation of recently appointed No. 3 exec
