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Foxconn has made a landmark entry into the car industry after the Taiwanese iPhone supplier struck a deal to manufacture electric vehicles for Mitsubishi Motors of Japan.
According to a memorandum of understanding between the companies, Foxtron, an EV subsidiary of the world’s biggest contract electronics manufacturer, will develop and produce a Mitsubishi vehicle aimed at the Australian and New Zealand markets.
The deal is a coup for Foxconn, which has been working to break into EV production since 2019, and marks a turning point for an automotive industry in which in-house manufacturing prowess has historically been essential to competitive advantage.
Foxtron said that it aimed to speed up EV development by using standardised platforms and components. It said that it looked forward “to a collaboration that will complement both parties and drive both business expansions”.
Mitsubishi Motors has focused its efforts on plug-in hybrids, which can be recharged like electric vehicles, but have an internal combustion engine as backup. Like other established car companies, it is struggling to fight back against the growing dominance of Chinese EVs.
Foxconn makes gadgets such as the iPhone for Apple and the PlayStation for Sony. Its EV business forms part of a long-term push to grow and to diversify away from iPhone assembly, which has faced disruption in recent months because of US tariff announcements.
On Monday, the group reported a 26 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue for the month of April as “strong pull-in momentum for AI” boosted its cloud and networking products and businesses rushed to place orders ahead of tariffs.
The new EV model announced on Wednesday is expected to enter the Australasian markets in the second half of 2026. It will be manufactured in Taiwan.
Mitsubishi’s strengths include its line-up of hybrids, presence in south-east Asia and popular off-road vehicles. However, the company has struggled to keep up with the shift to EVs given its smaller scale.
Foxconn had previously made overtures to Renault about buying a stake in Nissan, a larger Japanese carmaker, as a way into the automotive market. That idea did not move forward. Nissan is Mitsubishi’s second-largest shareholder, however, so the deal offers Foxconn another route to develop a connection.
As well as exploring a collaboration with Foxconn, Mitsubishi said it planned to work with its alliance partners, Nissan and Renault, to strengthen its line-up of electrified vehicles.