At CES 2017, Faraday Future introduced its futuristic luxury EV, the FF 91. Seven years later, following repeated delays, bankruptcy, lawsuits and other controversies, the company has sold “15 or 16” FF 91s. Now the company is detailing its latest strategy shift, with a plan to sell cheap EVs under its new low-cost “FX” brand. FX CEO Max Ma came to CES, along with two prototype vehicles, to pitch the plan that he described as a “fresh start” for the embattled company.
As you might expect with Faraday, the exact details are somewhat hazy, but it involves sourcing parts from Chinese car-makers and bringing them to the US to produce “mass volume mainstream vehicles” with some of the premium touches Faraday is known for. “We want to take that $300,000-car expertise from a technology and features and performance [standpoint] into a $30,000, $40,000 car to try to upgrade the overall user experience,” Ma said during a briefing with Engadget. The first FX vehicle, the flagship product of the brand’s lineup, will be a minivan (or, as Ma referred to it, “an AI MPV”) called the “Super One.”
Faraday showed off two prototype minivans to demonstrate the concept. We were not permitted to take photos but the vehicles in the photo at the top of this post are the ones I saw.
One was meant to show the kind of premium in-cabin experience Faraday is envisioning for the low-cost car. It had two rows of white leather captain seats. The second-row seats had reclining footrests, heated seats and built-in massagers. There was also a small fridge underneath the center console for keeping drinks cold. The vehicle was missing its door handles and several other pieces. “Obviously, we’ll have door handles,” a Faraday rep assured us.
The second minivan was even less finished. The entire interior, including the dashboard and instrument cluster, was covered in black fabric held together with binder clips. But a Faraday rep took me and other reporters for a ride in it, driving in small, slow circles around a Las Vegas parking lot. Later, Faraday offered to let me take the minivan for a spin and I — apparently the “first lady” to pilot the vehicle — also drove it in slow circles around the parking lot. I’m not sure what I was supposed to get out of it, though, it felt like driving a minivan.
There are two other vehicles planned for the initial FX lineup, the FX 5 and FX 6, which were previously announced by the company. Faraday is aiming for a $20,000 – $30,000 price for the FX 5 and $30,000 – $50,000 for the FX 6. There aren’t many other details yet about either, though Faraday shared a teaser image of an FX 6 prototype, which it described as an “extra-large luxury AIEV.”
Faraday claims it will start producing one of its planned vehicles later this year, with the first “pre-production” model rolling off the production line by the end of 2025, according to a timeline shared by Ma. That’s a lofty promise considering the company’s past history of mismanagement and delays. Faraday Future CEO Matthias Aydt also acknowledged that the company has yet to finalize its partnerships with the companies that will supply its parts. He also didn’t address how tariffs may affect those plans.
Ma said he understood the skepticism. “Basically, this is a kind of fresh start. We really want to demonstrate that through our dedication of hard work, we can achieve what we promised.”
