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Foxconn, the fearsome new Taiwanese competitor, rings to make Apple’s autonomous car


  • It already makes the iPhone for those of the bitten apple, in addition to being a supplier to Tesla or the old FCA (Fiat, Jeep, Chrysler …)


  • The eastern press places him in talks with the Chinese Geely -owner of Volvo- to outsource some of its models

We recently presented Foxconn in the automotive sector at NIUS. Is he Taiwanese giant what does a majority of iPhone y iPads, GoPro, PlayStation y XBox, among many other electronic devices. Foxconn started out as a mere supplier of simple electronic components and has ended up gathering a bunch of customers from the biggest tech companies.

This has been made possible by its affordable prices, but also by its excellent quality and reliability as a partner. More and more manufacturers of electronic systems and devices have been outsourcing their products and leaving them in their hands. His work had made him go relatively unnoticed to date, despite being the largest supplier of electronic components in the world, but its intention to expand its portfolio with automotive products is placing it at the center of the international business spotlight.

We informed a month ago of the intentions to produce a universal platform and software for electric cars called MIH, which would see the light in about two years. Well, they have already started to get customers for that platform and they are not just any customers. Due to its industrial relationship with Apple, the US media have revealed that the Taiwanese is within the ‘pool’ of possible manufacturers of Apple’s autonomous car.

The American computer giant has the entire driving system and software advanced, but lacks the experience and industrial capabilities for the development, manufacture and commercial launch of a car. Those of Cupertino They could buy directly from almost any manufacturer if they wanted, given their gigantic financial potential, but it seems that their intention is simply to partner with someone who allows them to forget about a business that they do not know almost everything about so they can focus on technological innovation.

Foxconn is one of the leading candidates, given that el Grupo Hyundai-Kia has rejected having anything to do with alleged negotiations with Apple to carry out this project. The problem is that despite its production capacity, the automobile business goes far beyond the mere assembly of a few parts and the integration of software.

With Geely and Daimler?

But as if that were not enough, Foxconn has come up with another very important partner. We are talking about Geely, which is the first Chinese private manufacturer (Except for the smallest, all the others have majority shareholdings either from the central state or from the regional states) and one of the largest manufacturers in the country. Geely is also owner of Volvo, Polestar and Lynk & Co. and majority shareholder of Daimler, having acquired 9.69% of its shares in February 2018.

Well, Geely has just published a series of contracts and associations, which outline its intentions to become a supplier of electric cars by contract for other manufacturers, carsharing companies, etc being one of them the collaboration with Foxconn. While the Taiwanese company would take charge of its new MIH electric platform, as well as the supply of the instrumentation and other electronic components, Geely would carry out all the commercial work, the production and the final assembly of the models.

“The two partners form a highly complementary partnership that enables us to better serve and meet diverse customer needs, and offer the most advanced, fastest and most cost-effective full-value chain vehicle production service platform,” said Young-way Liu. , President of Foxconn Technology Group. Likewise, Geely CEO Daniel Donghui Li stated that this is a cooperation “of great importance for both parties. We will join forces with Foxconn to develop and explore together new paths to transform, improve and achieve high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. ”

As a curiosity to add that the signing of the contract for this new joint business was carried out remotely, in a digital format, with the leaders of both companies from their respective headquarters. It is an association that “aligns perfectly with our vision 3 + 3 = infinity, and it represents a tremendous change in the evolution of the automotive industry ”, remarked Young-way Liu.

Here it is pertinent to remember that the Smart brand is in the process of relaunching thanks to this strategic partnership between Geely and Daimler.

Media springboard

All this already supposes an “entry” in the sector more than successful, since although some of these projects end up crystallizing, the gain in image projection of the Taiwanese at the international level is going to be enormous.

Foxconn, rooted in one of today’s most forward-thinking industries, electronic components, with partnerships, customers, and contacts with some of the largest manufacturers of both automotive and electronics, it may become one of the strongest competitors in the field of mobility in the future. But if that happens, NIUS readers will be able to talk about Foxconn with all the information in their hand.

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