Hon Hai to make Mitsubishi an EV for Australia, New Zealand

TAIPEI: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. has agreed to supply Mitsubishi Motors Corp. with an electric vehicle that will be manufactured in Taiwan, and sold in Australia and New Zealand by the end of 2026.

The car will be developed by Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co., a subsidiary of Hon Hai, and produced in Taiwan by Yulon Motor Co., Mitsubishi said in a statement Wednesday.

Hon Hai's partnership with Mitsubishi makes the Japanese automaker its first major customer for its fledgling EV contract manufacturing business.

Bloomberg first reported on the deal talks in March.

The Taiwanese iPhone maker commonly known as Foxconn had previously approached Nissan Motor Co., Mitsubishi's largest shareholder, to further its EV ambitions, but those discussions fell by the wayside as Nissan pursued an ultimately fruitless alliance with Honda Motor Co.

Jun Seki, the chief strategy officer of Hon Hai's EV business, visited Tokyo in April and was keen to ensure Japanese carmakers are aware of its willingness to assemble EVs for them, similar to how it makes PlayStations for Sony Group Corp. and iPhones for Apple Inc.

As the global automobile industry shifts rapidly toward battery-powered electric cars with advanced software, Hon Hai is betting legacy automakers will need help to make the transition.

Still, it'll likely take years for Hon Hai to build a fully functioning automotive arm, Seki has said.

In February, days before Nissan and Honda officially parted ways, Hon Hai said it was open to buying Renault SA's stake in Nissan.

The Taiwanese company had approached both Japanese carmakers over potential cooperation, according to Chairman Young Liu.

The Nissan Honda tie-up, which was penned in December, originally included Mitsubishi Motors.

Mitsubishi also said Wednesday it plans to debut a new EV in North America in 2026 based on Nissan's Leaf, one of the world's earliest mass produced electric cars.

The announcement is part of Mitsubishi's broader product strategy for the US through 2030. The carmaker said it's also considering opportunities to expand further in Australia.