Electric cars are becoming more popular by the year, and car manufacturers have a greater incentive than ever to produce more accessible and affordable options for the masses. Now, Foxconn is looking to make that goal easier for car manufacturers across the world to achieve.
Until now, the company was known for assembling Apple’s iPhones, but in a recent statement by executive William Wei, Foxconn is now working on a pivot that would make them the “Android of electric vehicles”.
It’s a good comparison to make, as Android currently holds the largest mobile operating system share thanks to its open-source model. Unlike Apple, Android allows any smartphone maker to use and customize Android’s ready-made software for their own smartphone needs.
In a move that mimic’s Android’s open source smartphone software model, Foxconn is introducing the MIH Open Platform, a set of resources and tools car manufacturers can use to design a variety of electric vehicles, which would then be manufactured by the Taiwanese company.
Essentially, car brands would be able to almost fully customize their EV designs within the MIH system, and could even replace and upgrade certain components at a later date. For all intents and purposes, it looks like Foxconn’s ultimate goal is to assemble all the necessary parts needed to create a whole car.
Along with its ambitious goal to democratize EV design, the company is also in the early stages of developing a “solid state” battery as a replacement to lithium ion batteries. If successful, these next-gen batteries could give EVs a boost in both range and efficiency, helping them appeal to an even wider audience.
What are your thoughts on creating an open-source model for designing electric vehicles? Let us know in the comments below, and check out more resources on EVs on the Headlights blog.