Dive Brief:
- Contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) is acquiring a 50% stake in Mitsubishi Electric Mobility, which operates Mitsubishi Electric’s automotive equipment business as part of a strategic alliance to develop next-generation mobility, per a press release.
- The share transfer price is estimated to be 115 billion yen ($728 million) and the two co-owners will jointly operate the company as Mitsubishi Electric Mobility. The transaction is expected to be completed on Oct. 1 2027.
- Mitsubishi Electric Mobility is expected to have an enterprise value of approximately 320 billion yen and an equity value of roughly 230 billion yen for its target business, per the release.
Dive Insight:
The announcement follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Foxconn and Mitsubishi in May 2025 to design and build electric vehicles in Foxconn’s Taiwan manufacturing facilities.
Then in April of this year, Mitsubishi Electric signed another memorandum of understanding with Foxconn to explore a strategic alliance to jointly operate their respective automotive equipment businesses.
The new jointly operated company will combine Mitsubishi Electric Mobility’s expertise in electric powertrains, software and vehicle control systems with Foxconn’s manufacturing speed and scale for market deployment, per the release.
The company’s initial plan is to manufacture electric-vehicle platforms developed in Japan, which it says will contribute to the adoption and advancement of next-generation mobility, strengthening the country’s industrial base and supporting sustainable growth of its domestic automotive industry. However, Mitsubishi Electric Mobility aims to eventually expand to global markets.
Foxconn is best known as Apple’s contract manufacturer, assembling hundreds of millions of electronic products for the company over the years, including the popular iPhone and iPad. But the company has been looking to expand into other markets as part of its 3+3+3 strategy to diversify its business, including electric vehicles, digital health, robotics semiconductors and AI.
Foxconn has been pursuing its EV plans for over five years. In July 2021, the company established the Mobility in Harmony Consortium, an open EV alliance with the primary goal of creating a standardized, open and modular platform for next-generation vehicles, as well as developing autonomous driving systems and other mobility applications.
In November 2021, Foxconn purchased the shuttered General Motors Lordstown, Ohio, factory from EV startup Lordstown Motors as part of a deal valued at approximately $260 million. It included the creation of a $100 million joint venture with Lordstown Motors in May 2022 to develop EVs for the global market.
However, the deal fell apart after the EV startup filed for bankruptcy protection and sued Foxconn for alleged fraud. Lordstown Motors accused the company of failing to abide by an agreement to invest $170 million in the Lordstown plant to prepare the facility to build an electric pickup.
In January 2024, Foxconn also established a new electric vehicle company in Zhengzhou, China named Foxconn New Energy Automobile Industry Development. The plans for the new company included electric motor production, vehicle development and component manufacturing, as well as sales.
In June 2025, Foxconn also signed a joint development agreement with automotive software developer Elektrobit to build an AI-powered platform for software-defined, electric vehicles.
