Kasra Mokhtari of Los Angeles-based startup INDIEV offers rides in an INDI One prototype car during the local unveiling of the INDI One car at Foxconn in Lordstown on Tuesday morning.
LORDSTOWN – Successful companies in the rapidly evolving automotive industry will be those who listen to the voice of the next generation of consumers, whose preferences are shifting from convention to computers and connectivity.
It was this shared sentiment that led to a partnership between Foxconn and INDI EV Inc. that has so far led the Taiwanese tech and electronics giant to making prototypes of the Los Angeles-based startup’s flagship, the INDI One – a car that capable of high-speed online gaming and streaming via a powerful in-vehicle computer – at Foxconn’s Lordstown Assembly Plant.
“The future of the automobile will no longer be about horsepower, it will no longer be about zero to 60 and nobody will care about engine noise. As painful as it is for some people, car guys like me, who always want to rev our engines, it’s a reality,” said Rick Rajaie, vice president of operations at Foxconn North America. “Successful companies in the automotive industry are the ones that understand the next-generation customer voice. It’s about connectivity, it’s about communication, cloud-based services, software-driven applications, user interfaces.”
It was also the news driven home Tuesday as the companies debuted the vehicle at the factory.
The companies announced a letter of intent last week expressing their mutual interest in entering into a contract manufacturing agreement that would see Foxconn mass-produce the INDI One.
It also includes a binding agreement to produce the prototypes in Lordstown and calls for Foxconn to produce the batteries for the electric vehicle.
“Foxconn Ohio will build batteries that will be built into the vehicles, the pre-production vehicles, along with standalone batteries that will be used for R&D (research and development) and engineering development purposes, so we will have additional batteries built here,” Rajaie said.
Neither Rajaie nor Bobby Bushell, assistant marketing manager for INDI EV, would say how many prototype vehicles would be made in Lordstown.
“The agreement is to build these prototype vehicles so that we can learn how to scale these vehicles and collaborate more since we only met earlier this year,” said Bushell. “The sky’s the limit from there.”
Delivery is scheduled for the end of 2023.
INDI ONE
The base vehicle has a starting price of $45,000 and a premium model is priced at $69,000. Customers are eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. Development of the vehicle started in 2017. It was presented to the public in October 2021.
The base model has a range of around 230 miles, while the premium model has a range of around 300 miles. The premium model is dual-motor, all-wheel drive, Bushell said.
The integrated computer offers a range of media and hardware services, including a personalized virtual assistant “equipped to learn your habits and improve your life,” as well as games, according to INDI EV Inc.
The software also allows drivers – not drivers – to capture content with interior and exterior cameras while driving, live stream video, and capture, edit, and upload content to the cloud from within the vehicle.
The dashboard features a 15-inch center screen for infotainment and navigation and another 15-inch screen for the passengers.
VEHICLES
So far, Foxconn has announced three products it will make at the factory, the former General Motors small car factory that Foxconn acquired from Lordstown Motors Corp in May.
In addition to the INDI One prototypes, Foxconn will produce Lordstown Motors’ flagship all-electric endurance pickup truck, which began commercial production in September, and Monarch Tractor’s battery-powered driverless tractor, the MK-V series tractor.
Lordstown Motors expects to deliver 50 trucks to customers this year and up to 450 more in the first half of 2023. Production of the Monarch tractor is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2023.
But on Tuesday, Rajaie appeared to quash recent multiple reports that Foxconn plans to produce its own electric vehicle, the Foxtron Model B, at its Lordstown plant.
Several outlets, including Car and Drive magazine and Fox Business, have reported that production of the all-electric hatchback will begin in Lordstown in 2024, after initial production begins next year in China.
When asked about Foxtron on Tuesday, Rajaie said: “I saw the news. Our commitment to our existing and future partners is to use our facility and its capacity for our partners’ production. We do not intend to have Foxconn and/or the Foxconn brand at Foxconn Ohio in particular.”
Foxtron is a partnership between Foxconn and Yulon Motor Co., the largest automaker in Taiwan, which was a manufacturer for Nissan and launched its own Luxgen brand in 2009.
Another vehicle that could be produced at the factory is Fisker Inc.’s PEAR, a sporty crossover and the electric vehicle maker’s second vehicle. However, there is no agreement that Foxconn will make the vehicle. Details are still being worked out.
