Foxconn plans EV activity in Ohio

The recent completion of a factory acquisition seems to suggest that the formative electric vehicle (EV) development and assembly market in the United States will continue to include the traditional Great Lakes region.

Taiwan-based Hon Hai Technology Group, known more commonly as Foxconn, and Ohio-based Lordstown Motors Corp. (LMC) have announced the signing of a contract manufacturing agreement and a joint venture (JV) agreement for product development.

The potential alliance was announced last November. At that time, Foxconn and Lordstown entered into an asset purchase agreement (APA) regarding LMC’s production plant in Lordstown, Ohio. That transaction has now been approved by regulatory authorities, Foxconn says.

“In the future, Ohio will be Hon Hai’s important electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub in North America,” states Foxconn, which describes itself as “the world’s largest technology manufacturer and service provider.”

Pioneering EV maker Tesla has placed many of its investments in California, Nevada and, most recently, Texas. Some of the traditional automakers, however, are investing in the Great Lakes region.

In January, General Motors announced two sizable EV-related investments in Michigan and another at a plant near Buffalo, New York. Ultium Cells LLC, a partnership between GM and LG Energy Solution, also is building a battery production site in Lordstown. 

The JV and contract manufacturing agreements between Foxconn and LMC have Foxconn investing $55 million. It also has the partners jointly using a “Mobility in Harmony (MIH) Open EV Platform” to co-design and develop vehicle programs for the global commercial vehicle market, Foxconn says.

Foxconn says its “expertise in hardware-software integration and production management of electronics manufacturing” can combine with LMC’s automaking experience to bring the electric pickup truck Endurance model into mass production. LMC had been trying to produce the Endurance on its own when it ran into questions about its representation of preorders in mid-2021.

“The collaboration between Hon Hai and Lordstown is a classic example of joint effort between startup EV manufacturer and an information and communications service provider,” Foxconn says.

The company says the 400 LMC employees will become Hon Hai or Foxconn employees with the transaction now completed. “By collaborating with different automotive OEMs, Hon Hai will offer its employees in North America exciting and challenging opportunities to develop their career paths in the field of EV,” Foxconn says.