(Yicai Global) Oct. 19 -- Hon Hai Technology Group, Apple's biggest contract manufacturer also known as Foxconn, is diversifying its business to focus more on new energy vehicles to reduce its reliance on the iPhone brand owner.

Foxconn and partners of Mobility in Harmony, an open electric vehicle development platform initiated by the Chinese firm, are jointly breaking a closed cycle of conventional auto manufacturing, Chairman Young Liu of Hon Hai Technology Group, the parent company of Foxconn, said during the annual Hon Hai Tech Day yesterday. The group is expected to halve the vehicle design period and cut the development costs by one-third, he added.

New Taipei-based Foxconn is looking to add more product categories, including semiconductors, to its portfolio as electric device demand, including that of Apple's smartphones, has weakened in recent years.

The Chinese firm's share in the global NEV contract manufacturing market will increase to 5 percent by 2025, it said. Such revenue should reach TWD1 trillion (USD31.2 billion) with an annual delivery of 500,000 to 750,000 units.

Foxconn does not sell vehicles with its own brand, Liu clarified, adding that NEVs sold by the firm's clients are likely to be made in Taiwan province, Thailand, and the US. More than 2,400 companies, one-quarter of which are software firms, are using MIH. So far five car models, including Foxtron-branded Model B and Model V, have been launched.

Foxtron, a joint venture between Foxconn and carmaker Yulon Motor, is mostly in charge of vehicle design while Foxconn is responsible for manufacturing, Jack Cheng, MIH chief executive, told Yicai Global.

Moreover, MIH-based autonomous driving technologies are set to be unveiled in early 2023 even though Foxconn has not yet rolled out any concrete solutions related to self-driving passenger vehicles.

Several US car brands, including Lordstown, are using MIH. Last year, Foxconn agreed with Fisker to produce up to 150,000 NEVs for the California-headquartered electric vehicle startup each year. Production is expected to begin in 2024.

Last year, Foxconn said it will acquire Lordstown's plant in Ohio to have a manufacturing base in North America. This year, the Chinese firm formed a JV called Horizon Plus with Arun Plus, a NEV unit of Thai oil and gas giant PTT Public, to provide contract manufacturing services in the Southeast Asian country.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi