Taiwan's Foxconn hopes to one day make Tesla electric cars, adding to its existing Fisker EV partnership, as it ramps up on electric vehicles to diversify its business.
Foxconn, the world's biggest contract electronics maker, already claims a 40%-45% share of the PC and cellphone markets. It famously assembles the Apple iPhone.
Now Foxconnn wants to parlay that success in building EVs for automakers, aiming for a 5% share by 2025. Apple itself has long been rumored to be planning an Apple car.
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"So, ambitions-wise, hopefully we are able to achieve the same kind of achievement like in the ICT (information and communications technology) industry, but we will start small, which is about 5% in 2025," Reuters quoted Chairman Liu Young-way saying at the company's annual Tech Day on Tuesday.
"I hope one day we can do Tesla cars."
Foxconn already has a deal to build EVs for startup Fisker in Ohio.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. It currently makes its EVs in-house and has been rapidly expanding capacity.
Contract assembly, which feeds components from various manufacturers into an assembly line-process in order to construct specific end products for client companies, is used extensively worldwide. For companies going this route, it can mean a faster time bringing new products to market and lower costs.
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EV Stocks
Tesla stock gained 0.4% to 220.19 amid a broad rally on the stock market today. Shares remain far below the 50- and 200-day averages.
Rival BYD narrowed its gain to 0.4% Tuesday after estimating an 879%-1,015% adjusted profit surge in the third quarter. Shares of the Chinese EV and battery giant also remain far below key averages.
Fisker advanced nearly 4% to above 7 and Apple stock climbed 0.9% to 143.75, with both also below key levels.
In May, Foxconn acquired an operational 6.2 million-square-foot EV factory in Ohio. Foxconn plans to build Fisker's second vehicle, the Pear, there, starting in 2024.
Contract manufacturer Magna International is set to build Fisker's first EV, the upcoming Ocean SUV. Production is due to start Nov. 17.
Foxconn and Fisker plan to build at least 250,000 Pear EVs year once production ramps up.
Last year, Bloomberg reported that Foxconn is in talks to help Saudi Arabia build EVs. The Saudi kingdom took a majority stake in another EV startup, Lucid in 2018.
Lucid stock popped 4.8% to 13.01, also far below key levels.
