Hon Hai Technology Group (鴻海科技集團) yesterday unveiled a blueprint to deploy an electric bus ecosystem in Kaohsiung, including plans for a manufacturing facility and battery pack capacity.
The group plans to create an electric vehicle (EV) design and manufacturing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park’s (南部科學園區) newly developed section in Kaohsiung’s Ciaotou District (橋頭), Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) told reporters.
To push for a greater proportion of its EV components to be supplied in-house, Hon Hai is mulling whether to make battery packs and cells at the Ciaotou Science Park (橋頭科學園區), Liu said.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
To provide seamless energy support, Hon Hai is assessing the feasibility of installing energy storage systems at the Ho Fa Industrial Park (和發產業園區) in the port city, he said.
The company aims to boost components supply from its MIH Open Platform members for three major electric systems — battery management, vehicle control and motor control units — to 90 percent by 2024, up from 65 percent currently, he said.
By 2024, it would be able to produce solid-state lithium-ion batteries and motor control systems, the company said.
Photo: CNA
Hon Hai plans to link its EV ecosystem to Kaohsiung’s smart city infrastructure by offering integrated solutions, Liu said.
It is in talks with the Kaohsiung City Government to scout potential sites for the project, he said.
Liu made the remarks at a news conference at which Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) — a Hon Hai-Yulon Motors Co (裕隆) EV design and manufacturing venture — delivered its first electric Model T bus to Kaohsiung Bus Co (高雄客運), which is owned by San-Ti Group (三地集團).
The Kaohsiung-based conglomerate’s North-Star Petroleum Co (北基國際), a gasoline station chain, is to be in charge of installing EV chargers for buses built by Foxtron.
North-Star in April last year formed a partnership with Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) to introduce charging systems at the chain’s 57 gas stations.
Foxtron plans to deliver 30 electric buses to San-Ti this year, said Liu, who is Foxtron’s chairman.
Foxtron aims to ship up to 150 electric buses to local customers this year, the company said.
Foxtron is seeking a 50 percent share of the nation’s electric bus market by 2030, said Michael Kuo (郭耀聰), a special assistant to the company’s CEO.
To comply with the government’s proposed electrification plans, about 30,000 fossil-fuel-powered buses would have to be swapped for electric buses by that time, Kuo said.
Asked how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would affect supply of key components, Liu said that some customers have asked that shipments to those countries be halted.
The supply of cabling for EVs has been affected, but the impact is insignificant at the moment, he said.
When asked about Hon Hai’s partnership with Lordstown Motors Corp, Liu said that a deal to buy assets of the Ohio-based EV maker went smoothly.
Hon Hai is making vehicles for the electric truck maker, he said.
However, Hon Hai has no intention to participate in Lordstown’s new fundraising program, Liu said.
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