Dive Brief:
- Electronics manufacturer Foxconn is growing its U.S. production capacity with plans to build EV battery packs in Ohio and Wisconsin, the company announced during an earnings call earlier this month.
- The plan is part of a broader push by the manufacturer to diversify its capacity outside of China, where it's faced significant operational disruptions over the past three years.
- Foxconn will focus its overseas efforts this year in the U.S., Mexico, India, Vietnam and Thailand as it pursues a "build, operate, localize" model to create regional-specific product development, Chairman and CEO Young Liu told investors.
Dive Insight:
Foxconn's new EV battery production plans are the latest in a years-long saga for its U.S. manufacturing.
The Taiwan-based company operates a manufacturing plant in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin that it first announced in 2017, promising to bring $10 billion in investment and 13,000 jobs.
Since opening, however, the factory has largely sat stagnant, according to media reports. In 2021 Foxconn renegotiated its deal with the state down to a $672 million investment and only 1,454 jobs.
Foxconn's Lordstown, Ohio plant has seen more activity. In November, the company announced plans to invest up to $170 million in the site, which it bought from Lordstown Motors in late 2021, to pursue a joint EV program between the two companies.
The manufacturer's most notable customer, Apple, is also pushing to diversify its work with the company out of China. In September, Apple publicized plans to produce iPhones at a Foxconn plant in Chennai, India.
And while roughly 70% of Foxconn's revenue still comes out of China, Liu noted during the recent earnings call that the overseas markets will continue to grow in the coming year.
"Going forward, the proportion of overseas regions will continue to increase," the chairman said. "This strengthens supply chain resiliency.”
