On October 14, 2021, we wrote that Independent Electric Vehicle had presented its first vehicle, the INDI One. At the time, The Verge also discovered that the company’s founder, Shi Hai, was being sued by three former employees in lawsuits INDIEV said were “frivolous.” Despite that, the startup presented its car at the 2022 New York Auto Show. The latest development from it is that Foxconn will produce “the first INDI One prototype vehicles,” but that puzzled us: what did INDIEV present at the New Yorker event?
As far as we know, it was the second prototype made by the Californian startup. The first one was a blue and black vehicle that you can see in our gallery. It was allegedly a functional EV. On top of that, INDIEV also presented at the auto show the INDI One’s platform, which carries a 95-kWhbattery pack. There are two explanations for that: either the first vehicles were just mockups (1:1 design studies that do not have motors), or INDIEV just does not call them prototypes – even if they are. But that is not the only part of the story that deserves a more detailed explanation.
Foxconn is working hard in promoting its MIH Open Platform, an open-source EV architecture around which it was supposed to base its manufacturing services. In other words, it will build cars for anyone willing to sell them as long as they use the MIH Open Platform. The Fisker PEAR is a good example of that strategy. The only exception we know about is the Lordstown Endurance, which does not use Hon Hai’s open-source architecture because it is a body-on-frame vehicle.
The INDI One seemed pretty advanced in development when the company first talked about it. It would be 189 inches (4.72 meters) long, 78 in (1.98 m) wide, and 67 in (1.70 m) tall. INDIEV did not disclose its wheelbase, but the short overhangs suggest it is more than 3 m (118 in) long. The company even knew how much it would weigh (5,500 pounds, or 2,495 kilograms), its top speed (130 mph, or 209 kph), its cargo capacity (43 cubic feet, or 1,274 liters), and price: $45,000.
If the platform INDIEV showed in New York is the one its car will use, Foxconn will only produce it to the startup’s specifications. If the MIH Open Platform underpins them, all these numbers are only targets. Both Foxconn and INDIEV said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) they signed “serves as first steps towards delivering vehicles to customers for INDIEV.” In other words, these prototypes are just an anticipation of the EVs Hon Hai will make for the startup. It would be highly appreciated if they eventually clarify the platform they intend to use.
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