On September 19th, Faraday Future (hereinafter referred to as FF) China’s senior management team made its public debut for the first time. On the same day, FF China CEO Chen Xuefeng announced that the cooperation between FF and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Geely Holding) has achieved substantial progress and has achieved the first stage of technical cooperation. At present, the technical teams of the two parties are working closely with each other to carry out the acceptance and development preparation of the platform technology.
Image source: Image courtesy of the company
“The implementation of this technical cooperation will help promote the discussion of further cooperation between the two parties, and will also promote the development of FF China’s business.” Chen Xuefeng said in an interview with the reporter of “Daily Economic News”.
According to the reporter’s understanding, in addition to the new progress made in cooperation with Geely Holdings, FF is also advancing the layout of sales channels in China and the location of its headquarters in China.
Substantial progress has been made in the dual home strategy
After entering 2021, FF, which was once in the “trough” of development due to funding difficulties, seemed to step on the “hot wheel”.
At the beginning of this year, FF announced that it had completed a backdoor listing through a business merger with a SPAC (reverse merger listing) company PSAC (full name Property Solutions Acquisition Corp.). At 9 p.m. Beijing time on July 22, FF was officially listed on the Nasdaq and received $1 billion in financing.
Image source: Image courtesy of the company
It is worth noting that FF closed up 1.45% on the first day of listing, with a total market value of US$4.511 billion, or nearly RMB 30 billion. However, FF’s stock price has been declining since then.The latest stock price was reported at US$10.37, down 24.7% from the issue price. The current total market value is US$3.364 billion, or approximately RMB 21.7 billion.
As a financial investor, Geely Holdings also participated in a small amount of investment in the listing of FF SPAC. Not only that, Geely Holdings is a technical partner of FF. On January 29, Geely Holding announced that it has signed a framework cooperation agreement with FF, and plans to cooperate in the fields of technical support and engineering services.And explore the possibility of providing foundry services by a joint venture between Geely and Foxconn.Geely Holding said that in addition to providing talent and technical support, it also provides support in the role of foundry.
According to Chen Xuefeng, the first phase of technical cooperation between FF and Geely Holdings has been fully concluded. The next step is the in-depth cooperation between the two parties on the platform. The two sides are currently further communicating about the new phase of cooperation.
FF is currently advancing its home game strategy for the US and the US.According to the relevant person in charge of FF China, currently, The number of FF China team has increased from 108 people left after the layoffs last year to more than 140 people, mainly distributed in Beijing and Shanghai. At the same time, FF is also opening a large-scale recruitment in the United States.
During the year or finalize the address of the China headquarters
Chen Xuefeng also responded to the cooperation between FF and the Zhuhai local government, which the outside world is most concerned about. “The content of the cooperation previously determined by the two parties has changed due to the establishment of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone.” Chen Xuefeng revealed that since the relevant process standards at the government level are still being developed, the cooperation between the two parties is still in communication.
At the beginning of this year, according to Sina Technology, in the latest round of FF financing, Zhuhai’s state-owned assets participated in an investment of 2 billion yuan. In addition, the relevant departments of Zhuhai City and FF have stepped up various preliminary preparations for the construction of the production base after the investment. However, since neither party has publicly acknowledged the news, speculation continues.
But on the day when FF was officially listed on the Nasdaq, it was reported that Zhuhai, the first-tier city in China that was originally scheduled to invest in FF, had terminated its shareholding in the company. In this regard, the relevant person in charge of FF explained to reporters as soon as possible,Zhuhai City did not terminate its shareholding in FF, but was unable to complete the investment due to foreign exchange reasons, and its investment quota has been transferred to relevant investment institutions. The new relevant investment institution has completed the signing of the investment agreement and completed the payment within the specified time.
Image source: Sina Weibo @FaradayFuture
However, FF China staff once revealed to reporters that FF and Zhuhai City’s relevant departments are still discussing the cooperation previously envisaged by the two parties. At present, the two sides are still in contact, and the possibility of cooperation in the later period is not ruled out.
As for the speculation about whether FF will place FF China’s headquarters in Zhuhai, Chen Xuefeng only said that there is no definite answer yet. “In the future, the local government may invest in land and capital.” Chen Xuefeng said.
The above-mentioned person familiar with the matter said,FF China is currently negotiating with many local governments, including Zhuhai. There are already 5 to 6 target provinces and cities, and it is accelerating the search for FF China headquarters to settle in cities.As for where the FF headquarters will be located in the future, it is expected that there will be an answer within this year.
“The FF China headquarters will land together with the company’s domestic production base.” The relevant person in charge of FF China also revealed to reporters that the main task of FF in China this year is to strive to complete the landing of the production base and headquarters by the end of the year.
According to the plan, in 2025, FF will achieve an annual production capacity of 100,000 to 250,000 vehicles in China, and an additional annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles in 2026.
The first flagship stores are located in first-tier cities
As the delivery date for the first mass-produced car, FF 91, is approaching, FF’s sales channels in China and the United States have also expanded.
On April 15 this year, FF announced the establishment of a new global online-to-offline (O2O) direct sales organization, strategy and sales partner. A circulated FF communication material to investors shows that in the future, FF offline stores will be concentrated in the United States, northern Europe and the Chinese market.
It is reported that at present, FF has created an O2O direct sales model that integrates online and offline, forming an asset-light sales network through online platforms, FF’s own stores, and partners’ own stores and exhibition halls. “We have completed the site selection of the FF Ecological Flagship Store.The first batch was confirmed in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.“The above-mentioned relevant person in charge of FF China said in an interview with reporters that FF’s marketing method will adopt the “self-operated + FF par” model.
According to the plan, FF’s first production car, the FF 91, will be delivered to the market within one year after its successful IPO. Up to now, the mass production delivery of the FF 91 Futurist model has entered the sprint stage from all dimensions such as manufacturing, supply chain, and user ecology. “Our current core goal is to make the FF 91 within 12 months.” Chen Xuefeng said that FF will also quickly develop the second mass-produced model FF 81 scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2023.
According to the plan, in the next five years, FF’s passenger car plan will include the FF 91 series, the FF 81 series and the FF 71 series. Among them, FF 81 is expected to be mass-produced and listed in 2023, and FF 71 is expected to be mass-produced and listed at the end of 2024.
According to Chen Xuefeng, FF already has a complete strategic plan for the next stage, and the direction of exploration is relatively clear.
Reporter|Li Xing
Edit|Sun Lei He Xiaotao Du Hengfeng
Proofreading|Duan Lian
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