Profits on smartphone assembly fell, Foxconn turned to producing electric cars

The world’s largest electronics assembler – Apple’s main iPhone assembly partner – Foxconn is preparing to enter a whole new field for them: making electric cars with an ambitious plan. .

According to a new plan announced by the company yesterday, Foxconn will launch a technology platform to help electric car manufacturers cut costs and launch new models more quickly. According to William Wei, chief technology officer at Foxconn, the company’s goal is to create an “Android for electric cars” – an open-source electric car platform like what Google did with smartphones.

Foxconn says its open platform will share critical software and hardware designs, from solid-state batteries to data management tools, on a cross-platform “ecosystem” for homeowners. producers and developers. The company believes its open platform will help shorten the time and costs required to launch new electric cars.

The company also said it has been in talks with various automakers for the electric car platform to support a wide variety of chassis, battery capacity levels, suspension types and vehicle height. different.

During Friday’s event, Young Liu, president of Foxconn, said the group aims to capture “10% market share by 2025 to 2027, when the global market for electric cars is expected to reach. to the scale of 30 million cars. ”

A prototype electric car chassis of Foxconn

Foxconn’s attempt to enter the electric car industry did not surprise many when rumors said earlier this year that it was working with Fiat Chrysler to produce electric cars for the Chinese market.

The effort is even more important for Foxconn, as profits from its smartphone assembly operations, which make up the bulk of the company’s total profits, continue to decline. The electronics industry has gone beyond devices like computers or smartphones and into areas like electric cars, forcing the company to diversify its business.

Analysts also say that Foxconn is looking to repeat its long-standing dominance in global computer and smartphone outsourcing – which is meeting more and more competitors – by went into electric car production. This new type of vehicle is expected to become the dominant force for electronic products in terms of both factory size and global sales in the coming years.

Refer to FT