Faraday Future’s future has been hanging on by a thread, as the company has laid off a number of employees and sold their headquarters just to stay afloat.
Now it appears the brand might live on, as it has announced a new joint venture with The9 Limited which is a Chinese internet company that specializes in mobile games.
Under the terms of the agreement, the joint venture will “manufacture, market, distribute and sell Faraday Future’s new brand V9 model.” Little is known about the car, but the company described it as a flagship luxury electric vehicle “based on the technology and design concepts” of the FF 91.
The9 will invest up to $600 million into the joint venture and Faraday Future will provide “in-kind contributions” including land for a production site in China and a license to sell the V9 there. The first pre-production model is expected to roll off the assembly line in 2020 and the joint venture will build a plant with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units.
Faraday Future doesn’t have the best track record with partners or suppliers and it appears The9 is being pretty cautious with their money. In a statement, the firm said they’ll make an initial deposit of $5 million and the rest is “contingent on satisfaction of funding conditions.” The9 will also be in control of business operations at the joint venture even though both companies will have a 50% stake in it.
In related news, Faraday Future claimed they are making “steady progress” on the FF 91 as multiple pre-production vehicles are undergoing testing and validation. The company intends to launch the crossover later this year, but that remains to be seen.
