Taiwan
Foxconn, the contract manufacturer best known for assembling iPhones, had planned to enter the US electric vehicle market with a crossover meant to compete with the Tesla Model Y. The plan is now on hold.
The car is Foxconn’s Model C, already sold in Taiwan as the Luxgen n7, the first mass-produced EV from Taiwanese automaker Yulon. Both are built by Foxtron, the joint venture between Foxconn and Yulon, on Foxconn’s open MIH electric-vehicle platform, which Foxconn also offers to other automakers as a contract-manufacturing basis. The n7 is available with a 230 hp rear-drive Standard version on a 58 kWh battery, a longer-range rear-drive version with an 83 kWh pack good for up to 664 km on the NEDC cycle, and a 462 hp all-wheel-drive version, with an optional third row of seats.
To reach the US, Foxconn was seeking an established local automaker to build and sell the car under contract, following its usual model of supplying hardware rather than selling cars under its own name. New import tariffs, the end of federal EV tax credits, and a broader slowdown in US EV demand made the launch too risky for now, according to Foxtron. The company says it could revisit the plan if conditions change.
Foxconn is not abandoning its automotive ambitions. It continues to pursue EV contract-manufacturing deals elsewhere, expanding its presence in Europe and partnering with Mitsubishi on a new electric crossover for the Australian market.
