iPhone maker Foxconn reveals 3 new electric vehicles with names eerily similar to Tesla's

Tim Levin
Updated ·2 min read

  • Apple supplier Foxconn is getting into the electric-vehicle game.

  • It revealed three electric prototypes during an event on Monday: an SUV, a sedan, and a bus.

  • Foxconn plans to build a range of EVs for car companies.

Foxconn, the largest electronics contract manufacturer in the world and Apple's main iPhone supplier, is getting into the electric-vehicle business.

During an event on Monday, the Taiwanese tech giant unveiled its first three prototype vehicles: a bus, an SUV, and a sedan. Foxconn doesn't plan to sell consumer EVs itself, but rather to build them for auto industry customers, which will sell the vehicles under their own brand names.

The SUV, called the Model C, will offer seating for up to seven people, a range of up to 435 miles, and a 0-62-mph time of 3.8 seconds, Foxconn said. The Model E, a big luxury sedan, promises 750 horsepower and a range of up to 466 miles. Tesla's longest-range car can go 405 miles on a full battery, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Foxconn Model E.
Foxconn's Model E sedan. Foxconn

Foxconn also showed off an electric bus called the Model T.

Foxconn's product names sound eerily similar to Tesla's lineup, which comprises the Model S, Model 3, Model Y, and Model X. Ford's claim to fame was the Model T, and the company also owns the US trademark for the Model E name. That blocked Tesla from naming its third vehicle the Model E, forcing it to swap in a "3" instead.

All the EVs were developed by Foxtron, a joint venture between Foxconn and Yulon Group, a Taiwanese automaker. Foxconn envisions an EV platform that can be adapted for a wide range of vehicles. Yulon will be Foxconn's first EV customer.

Foxconn Model T bus.
Foxconn's Model T bus. Foxconn

Foxconn is making inroads into the US automotive space as well. It recently announced an agreement to buy the Ohio factory of EV startup Lordstown Motors. Foxconn will take over production of Lordstown's first vehicle, a pickup truck, as part of the deal. Foxconn also is working with Fisker, another EV startup, to build one of its models starting in 2023.

Foxconn's big EV debut comes amid various reports that Apple is on the hunt for a company to manufacture its own electric car.

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