Geely reached an agreement last week with Faraday Future to share technology and engineering services, and also take a minority stake in the electric-vehicle startup.
The two companies also said they would explore the potential for utilizing the new contract manufacturing joint venture established in China by Geely and Foxconn in January. Taiwan's Foxconn is a leading contract manufacturer of electronic goods whose clients include the likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. Recently it's been making moves in the automotive space, including unveiling its own modular platform for EVs, and investing in EV startup Byton.
The agreement between Geely and Faraday Future was announced just a day after Faraday Future said it would go public with a listing on the Nasdaq via a so-called reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), specifically Property Solutions Acquisition Corp. Faraday Future is expected to receive $1 billion from the deal.
Prior to the agreement between Geely and Faraday Future being announced, Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Faraday Future is looking to expand into China and, initially at least, rely on the contract manufacturing services of the Geely-Foxconn joint venture.
Faraday Future plant in Hanford, California
Citing its own sources, South China Morning Post reported last week that Faraday Future would tap Geely for contract manufacturing of the FF91 crossover SUV.
Here in the United States, Faraday Future plans to build the FF91 at its own plant in Hanford, California, starting in 2022. Faraday Future also said it may tap a contract manufacturer in South Korea.
Faraday Future is also developing more affordable models to be called the FF81 and FF71. They are targeted for release in 2023 and 2024, respectively. A teaser of the FF81 was shown in 2018. The company is also looking to launch a delivery vehicle around 2023.
Faraday Future faces an uphill battle not only in the U.S., where the established automakers are preparing to rollout dozens of new EVs, but also in China where there are a number of EV startups already offering multiple models, including Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng.
