Apple Supplier Foxconn Eager to Break Into Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

Apple supplier Foxconn is making a major push into electric vehicle manufacturing and has long been aiming to get into the vehicle market, according to a new profile of Foxconn's car ambitions that was shared by Nikkei.

"If we can make iPhones, why can't we make EVs?" Foxconn founder and former chairman Terry Gou said in an internal meeting. "It is an iPhone with four wheels."

Foxconn has been pursuing electric vehicles since 2014 when there was an "A-Fu Initiative" to build an electric vehicle prototype. That project ultimately folded because of the complexity of creating a car, but Foxconn is once again building up a vehicle supply chain with plans to get into EV manufacturing.

Gou's successor Young Liu is aiming to have Foxconn designs, components, and mechanical parts or software inside five percent of electric vehicles by 2025, and Foxconn is building factories in the U.S. and Thailand for car assembly.

Apple too is making inroads into car manufacturing with its long running "Project Titan," and though the project has evolved and shifted over the years, rumors suggest that Apple is working on creating a full electric vehicle that could come out by 2028.

Foxconn subsidiaries already supply parts to companies like Tesla and BMW, and Foxconn has signed vehicle supply deals with Fiat and Chrysler owner Stellantis and is working with Geely to develop software platforms and whole vehicles. It is also planning to manufacture vehicles for Fisker.

As Foxconn is already a major Apple supplier, Foxconn could play a key role in Apple's future vehicle plans. According to Nikkei, Foxconn is assumed to be a candidate to produce Apple Cars.

Rumors have suggested that Apple is pursuing manufacturing partners and talking with multiple companies at the current time, though there's no concrete word yet on the companies that Apple will end up working with for the Apple Car.