Chinese startup that made itself known to the world with the presentation of the 100% electric luxury saloon FF 91, Faraday Future (FF) may have found, after the financial crisis that LeEco fell into, a new Midas king — nothing more, none other than the Indian giant Tata, owner of Jaguar Land Rover.
Going through difficult times, especially after the financial difficulties in which its main financier, the Chinese electronics giant LeEco, fell, Faraday Future (FF) has been struggling, in recent times, to at least keep its head on the table. surface water.
Under pressure from creditors and with an unfinished factory where it has been planning to build its debut model, the FF 91, Faraday needs funds, like bread for mouth – something Tata seems willing to guarantee. In exchange, it will be able to gain access to cutting-edge technology that the Chinese startup was developing with the support of LeEco.
Tata will have invested 771 million in Faraday
According to the British Autocar, based on news from the Chinese automotive news portal Gasgoo, the Chinese company currently has a market value of around 7.7 billion dollars, with Tata having invested around 771 million of euros on Faraday. Acquiring, in this way, about 10% of the Hong Kong startup — information that still lacks official confirmation.
For FF, this could be the oxygen balloon the company needed, to resume the challenge of building its first car, which the Chinese company has always described as a direct rival of the Tesla Model S. Something that, however, it will only be possible with the completion of the factory that was being built in the state of Texas, USA, whose construction stopped due to debts to the contractor.
Today, with two important casualties in the structure, the result of the abandonment in October of the financial director, Stefan Krause, as well as the end of the contract with the responsible for the technology, Ulrich Kranz, Faraday Futures believes, however and still , to be able to carry out its project to create an all-electric luxury vehicle, for market launch in 2019.
FF 91 with an announced range of 700 kilometers
The model, called FF 91, is based not only on a 130 kWh battery, but also on the already patented Echelon Inverter, a state-of-the-art power inverter. Technology that, guarantees the company, manages to accumulate more energy, in less physical space.
Faraday officials have also revealed that FF 91 should be able to guarantee autonomy above 700 kilometers, according to the NEDC cycle, while, thanks to a new domestic charging system, it should be able to restore half of the battery's capacity, in no more than 4.5 hours. This, as long as it is possible to recharge it at powers in the order of 240 V.