The MIH Consortium, an electric vehicle alliance led by Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday unveiled a plan to set up an innovation hub in Ohio.
The alliance disclosed the plan at the CES technology show with its partners, including Lordstown Motors, INDI EV and Monarch Tractor, who are exhibiting at the Las Vegas show, which runs through tomorrow.
The hub would enable the alliance’s global supply chain partners to share their expertise and cooperate on electric vehicle and mobility projects, helping to boost innovation and US manufacturing capabilities, MIH Consortium chief executive Jack Cheng (鄭顯聰) said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
The hub would be the latest step taken by Hon Hai, known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) overseas, to develop its electric vehicle network in the US.
Hon Hai has just started to roll out electric pickup trucks in a factory in Ohio that it bought from US-based Lordstown Motors for US$230 million in May last year.
In November, Hon Hai announced it would spend US$170 million to buy all of Lordstown’s outstanding preferred stock and 18.3 percent of its common stock through a private placement.
Cheng said the location of the Ohio electric vehicle factory and an information communications technology base in Wisconsin would drive the development of the US supply chain.
“By leveraging the resources of Foxconn, the MIH will be able to greatly deepen and broaden its partnerships in the North American ecosystem,” he said.
To set up an electric vehicle ecosystem in North America, the consortium said it has set its sights on the production of a three-seater vehicle called Project X, before the launch of six-seater and nine-seater models for the North American market.
The MIH Consortium started operating in July 2021 as part of Hon Hai’s efforts to enter the electric vehicle market and diversify itself from a pure contract manufacturer into a company that integrates hardware and software capabilities.
The MIH electric vehicle open platform was initiated by Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Yulon Motor Co (裕隆), and it aims for the platform to become the “Android of the electric vehicle industry.”
So far, the MIH alliance has 2,566 members from 68 nations.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
RIDING AI WAVE: : Most of its NT$15bn capital budget would be spent on packaging technologies used in AI and HPC chips and advanced testing technology, it said Chip testing and packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (PTI, 力成科技) plans to increase this year’s capital expenditure by 50 percent to expand capacity to meet growing demand for advanced memorychips used in artificial intelligence (AI) products. The company proposed to spend NT$15 billion (US$460.94 million) to expand advanced capacity and equipment, compared with a budget of NT$10 billion it planned three months ago. “We are seeing a recovery in market demand as well as new business opportunities. We will spend heavily on advanced packaging” equipment, Powertech chief executive officer Boris Hsieh (謝永達) told investors on Tuesday. “We will focus on ramping
INFLATION WATCH: A rate hike in March would help keep inflation at 2.16 percent this year, although a weak currency and higher electricity rates are an issue, S&P said Moody’s Ratings and S&P Global Ratings have reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereign credit ratings at “As3” and “AA+” respectively with a stable outlook on the back of high income and wealth levels, a strong institutional framework and robust external positions. The affirmations came as Taiwan’s economy is gaining momentum after quarters of slowdown induced by stubborn global inflation and monetary tightening. Taiwan’s strong fiscal and external buffers have improved relative to peers as evidenced by recent shocks linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing US-China technology dispute, the two ratings firms said. “Taiwan stands as the epicenter of the global semiconductor supply chain, accounting