Foxconn will no longer manufacture electric tractors for California startup Monarch Tractor after the Taiwanese tech company sold its Ohio factory to SoftBank. Monarch CEO Praveen Penmetsa confirmed the news in a LinkedIn comment on Tuesday. He mentioned that his company collaborated with Foxconn to build up inventory before the factory sale, ensuring they have enough stock to meet customer demand for the next 12 months, along with sufficient spare parts.
Penmetsa also stated that Monarch will soon share details about its plans to introduce more Monarch-enabled products through new manufacturing partnerships.
Following the sale, SoftBank is expected to work with Foxconn to use the factory for producing equipment related to the Stargate AI project, a collaboration between OpenAI and Oracle.
Foxconn originally acquired the former General Motors factory from EV startup Lordstown Motors in 2022. Before the sale, Foxconn’s chairman, Young Liu, described the facility as poised to become the most important electric vehicle manufacturing and research hub in North America.
Monarch was one of four companies Foxconn promoted as potential customers for its electric vehicle contract manufacturing operations at the Ohio plant. While Foxconn produced a few hundred tractors for Monarch, the startup has faced challenges. Last year, it underwent two rounds of layoffs and shifted its focus to new customer segments after California’s wine industry downturn impacted its business.
The other three companies Foxconn intended to build vehicles for have all filed for bankruptcy. Foxconn assembled a small number of Lordstown Motors pickups before the startup collapsed in 2023. The remaining two prospective customers, Fisker Inc. and IndiEV, never had vehicles produced by Foxconn, and both have since gone out of business.
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