Apple’s plans to develop a car with Hyundai may have collapsed but its long-time supplier is expanding further into the automotive world.
Automotive News reports Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn will develop an electric vehicle with Fisker.
The company currently manufactures, among other products, Apple’s iPhone and iPad as well as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker tweeted the vehicle is “revolutionary” and “might be too futuristic for some”.
That suggests Foxconn won’t be building the more conventional Ocean SUV that’s already been revealed, and arguably rules out the Alaska ute that Fisker teased last year.
The Foxconn-built vehicle will still be beaten to market by the Ocean, set to go on sale in the US in the fourth quarter of next year.
Foxconn will begin production of the Fisker-branded vehicle in the fourth quarter of 2023, and it will be sold in markets such as North America, Europe, China and India.
Annual production volume is expected to exceed 250,000 vehicles, and there are reportedly plans for US production in the works.
A source familiar with the talks told Automotive News that Fisker and Foxconn will enter a formal agreement in the second quarter of this year.
Last year, Foxconn revealed its first-ever electric vehicle platform and software platform, dubbed MIH.
According to Foxconn, the architecture can have a wheelbase between 2750mm and 3100 mm, and supports a variety of track and ride heights, making it suitable for sedans, hatches, crossovers, and people movers.
Battery packs with 93kWh, 100kWh and 116kWh can be installed. A variety of electric motors can be employed at both ends, with the initial offering consisting of 95kW, 150kW and 200kW front motors, and 150kW, 200kW, 240kW and 340kW units for the rear axle.
Earlier this month, the Taiwanese manufacturer announced it would reveal two light vehicles on its new platform in the fourth quarter of this year.
In order to bring the Android model to electric vehicles, Foxconn plans to make the EV architecture’s core software systems “open” to auto manufacturers to access, program and modify.
By making many of an EV’s core components available to use off the shelf, Foxconn is hoping to dramatically reduce the costs of developing and designing new electric cars.
The Foxconn platform supports over-the-air software updates, vehicle-to-anything communication, 5G mobile internet connectivity, and driver assistance, as well as self-driving car technology.
Foxconn claims it is also working with others on solid-state batteries, a technology which promises to both greatly decrease cost and charging time, and hopes to have it available by 2024.
Byton M-Byte 
Likening the Tesla range to the “iPhone of EV”, the company wants its EV platform to be the “Android of EV” – an ambitious goal, given Android devices surpass Apple devices in global market share.
Foxconn has already signed a manufacturing deal with another EV start-up, Chinese firm Byton, to build its M-Byte SUV by 2022.
It’s also working with Geely to provide production and consulting services to other automotive companies.
Rather than going it alone, Fisker – the second namesake automotive company created by Henrik Fisker – has tapped familiar names to help produce its vehicles.
In addition to the reportedly imminent deal with Foxconn, Fisker announced last year that Magna International would help build its debut model, the Ocean SUV.
