Faraday Future is edging closer to the start of production of its FF91, an electric crossover first unveiled to the world in early 2017.
The California-based electric-vehicle startup on Wednesday unveiled the first production-intent example of the FF91 at its plant in Hanford, California, and said the first customer examples remain on track to enter production in the third quarter of 2022.
The production-intent FF91 is built to the same specification as the upcoming customer examples. It, and more like it, will be used in the coming months for final testing and validation, as well as final certification.
Production-intent Faraday Future FF91
Production of the FF91 takes place at a former Pirelli tire factory, which Faraday Future started leasing in 2017 after abandoning plans to construct a new factory in North Las Vegas, Nevada. We'll remind you that the FF91 was originally due to start production in 2018.
A number of financial difficulties, investor disputes, and executive shuffles around 2018 brought progress to a halt, but Faraday Future managed to secure fresh funding last year from Chinese auto giant Geely, as well as from a SPAC deal that saw shares in the company start trading on the Nasdaq.
While it's still not ready to deliver FF91 crossovers to customers just yet, Faraday is planning production of a second model called the FF81. Earlier this month, the company announced a deal with South Korean auto parts supplier Myoung Shin to build the FF81 at the latter's former General Motors factory in Gunsan, South Korea, beginning in 2024. The FF81 is expected to be a higher-volume model with a lower price than the FF91, which is expected to start in the six-figure range.