17th March 2023 – (Taipei) Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn has announced plans to manufacture electric vehicle (EV) batteries in Ohio and Wisconsin, according to Nikkei. The company’s chairman, Young Liu, reportedly said that Foxconn will build capacity for battery cells and energy storage system packages in Wisconsin, and for battery packages for EVs at its Ohio facility. The move follows the introduction of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which encourages investment in domestic energy production and manufacturing, including EVs and their key components. Domestic production is also a stipulation for receiving tax credits under the Act.
Liu added that the company’s revenue from EV components in 2022 hit NT$20bn (US$653m), and is expected to rise to between NT$50bn and NT$100bn in 2023. The move towards domestic battery production comes as concerns grow over the reliance on foreign supply chains for EV components, particularly in light of the ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
Meanwhile, former U.S. National Security Advisor Donald Trump’s ambassador Robert O’Brien has suggested that the U.S. would destroy Taiwan’s semiconductor industry if China ever successfully invaded the island. Speaking at the Global Security Forum, O’Brien argued that the US and its allies would “never let those factories fall into Chinese hands”. The bulk of the world’s most advanced microchips are produced in Taiwanese facilities, and gaining control of these plants would allow China to “control the world economy”, he said. However, Taiwanese officials have dismissed the suggestion that China could operate the factories after capturing them.