U.S. luxury electric vehicle brand Karma Automotive has joined the Mobility in Harmony (MIH) consortium, an open electric vehicle development platform led by the Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.
In a statement posted on the consortium’s Facebook page on Friday, MIH Chief Executive Officer Jack Cheng (???) said Karma Automotive’s dedication, experience, and capabilities in manufacturing and engineering were in line with the consortium’s goal of recruiting strategic partners to develop the next generation electric vehicles.
In a separate statement, Karma Automotive said its presence in the consortium and the associated MIH Open Platform – which Hon Hai has billed as the “Android of the electric vehicle industry” – would help improve the user experience as well as reduce costs and expedite development cycles.
MIH Consortium said it was joined by a total of 14 new members so far in July, including Karma Automotive. Currently, the consortium has 2,407 members from 65 countries and regions around the world, the group said.
Meanwhile, Horizon Plus – a joint venture between Hon Hai and Thailand’s state-owned oil supplier PTT Public Co. established in February – has announced plans for an electric vehicle plant in the Southeast Asian country’s Rojana Industrial Park Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
According to Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn on the global maarket, the joint venture aims to begin mass-producing electric vehicles at the site by 2024.
In recent years, iPhone assembler Hon Hai has promoted a “3 plus 3” initiative to expand from its contract manufacturing business into hardware and software integration. The development of EVs is central to the initiative, as is building an EV supply chain.
The “3 plus 3” initiative refers to three emerging industries — electric cars, robots and digital healthcare — that are being developed through the application of artificial intelligence, semiconductor and communication technologies.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel