Hon Hai’s CEO assured his audience that the Taiwanese giant “is not in the business of selling its own EV brand.” That means we will never see a Foxtron for sale. Despite that, Young Liu presented two new Foxtron vehicles at the Hon Hai Tech Day 2022 (HHTD22). The most relevant one for the American market is certainly the Model V, which will be made in the U.S. Could this be a new product for Lordstown Motors?
Apart from Lordstown, the only customer in Foxconn’s current list that seems to be interested in a pickup truck is Fisker. However, we seriously doubt that the company would ever build something designed by anyone other than Henrik Fisker. That said, the Model V must belong to one of Hon Hai’s other customers.
If it were a Lordstown product, the Model V would have a very different configuration than that the Endurance presents. Instead of electric motors in each wheel, the Taiwanese pickup truck shows a solid rear axle and leaf spring suspension. What makes us scratch our heads is why the electric pickup has a drive shaft instead of an electric motor in the rear axle right away. If it were a 4WD vehicle, another electric motor in the front axle would seal the deal. This is a pretty conservative configuration, even if quite robust and dependable as well.
That may help to explain its 1-metric-ton (2,205 pounds) cargo capacity with the relatively small bed. It is 1.5-meter (59.1-inch) long, 1.45-m (57.1-in) wide, and 0.5-m (19.7-in) tall, which allows it to carry 1,088 liters (38.4 cubic feet) of cargo. Hon Hai also said it could tow 3 metric tons (6,614 lb). The bed contains power sockets for 110V and 12V.
The company did not disclose much more about the Model V apart from the fording depth (80 centimeters, or 31.5 inches) and an NEDC range of 420 kilometers (261 miles). Aerodynamically, the bed works like a parachute in the back, which makes it weird for the vehicle to present flush door handles and cameras instead of rear-view mirrors. They must make no difference in improving the range. Foxconn said it is possible to go from 20% to 80% of charge status in half an hour, suggesting the pickup uses a 400V system and does not accept a very high charging rate.
Another mystery to solve about the pickup truck is its platform. Hon Hai said it was developed by the 2,479 companies involved with the MIH Open Platform, but it clearly is not the MIH. That would make the Model V a unibody vehicle, which it is not. Just like the suspension and the rear axle, it relies on a body-on-frame construction. Foxconn should think about other applications for it soon, such as a rugged SUV or even a Wrangler competitor.
Will the unique logo on the pickup truck reveal who will sell it? Perhaps a new brand from Yulon? At this point, all we know is that it will avoid the Chicken Tax with manufacturing at the Lordstown plant in Ohio. Get ready for this new electric pickup truck, American consumers.
Google News