On June 14th, Jia Yueting, founder and chief product and user ecology officer of Faraday Future, announced his speech on Weibo at the "2024 China Automotive Blue Book Forum". Jia Yueting stated that the current domestic AI EV industry is highly competitive, and most companies are unable to make profits and invest in large-scale funds for technological upgrades and original innovation.
As the world's second largest and most valuable automotive market, the penetration rate of pure electric vehicles in the United States was only 8% in 2023, while this number reached 36% in China. If other new energy products such as hybrid are added, the penetration rate in the Chinese market has exceeded 50%. This huge gap has created a huge blue ocean for the US market. In the segmented market of 20000 to 30000 US dollars and 30000 to 40000 US dollars, the penetration rate of electric vehicles is lower, making it a super blue ocean. Because there is currently no decent AI EV product in the US market within this price range. In contrast, the Chinese EV market provides users with an incredibly diverse range of choices.
Regarding this, Jia Yueting stated that FF is willing to serve as a bridge between China and the United States in the automotive industry, helping to unleash its value through "outward expansion". FF is willing to maximize the value of the "bridge between China and the United States in the automotive industry", reach consensus with potential partners, and quickly launch products with the "ultimate body to price ratio", allowing the AI EV market in the United States to experience explosive growth.
Jia Yueting stated that FF's "bridge strategy" is to provide a complete solution that empowers the entire value chain for Chinese companies aspiring to conquer the US market, including four major empowerment points:
1. Based on the FF aiHyper 6X4 architecture 2.0, the product, technology, research and development, and vehicle engineering system empower the core technology adopted by the $300000 FF91 to mass market models.
The FF California factory has complete domestic vehicle production and manufacturing capabilities in the United States, empowered by a mature production and manufacturing team, quality control, and product compliance certification and access system.
3. Empowering a unique user ecosystem that includes brand acquisition, marketing, sales, after-sales, and user operation.
4. Create global profits for partners while empowering capital value.
Jia Yueting also stated that FF plans to localize the production of mass-produced Volkswagen models in the United States and has recently negotiated cooperation and procurement plans for components with multiple domestic automakers. Jia Yueting stated that he is currently making every effort to promote financing for strategic investors. After the funds are in place, he hopes to sign the first batch of large-scale component procurement contracts as soon as possible and make advance payments.
Previously, Jia Yueting also posted that he had delivered the FF 91 2.0 Futurist Alliance to the first individual investor in the secondary market, marking the company's resumption of the second phase of delivery (SOD2).
On June 13th, Faraday Future (FFIE, stock price 0.521 US dollars, market value 229 million US dollars) announced on Weibo that it had successfully delivered a new car to veteran individual investor He Jun, marking FF's 12th car delivery.
FF stated that the Chief Operating Officer of Mr. He's US subsidiary accepted FF 91 2.0 at FF's Los Angeles headquarters. FF founder, Chief Product and User Ecology Officer Jia Yueting delivered the vehicle to Mr. He's representative. This marks the company's restart of the second phase of delivery (SOD2) that began last year.
Jia Yueting said, "FF is considering launching a second brand under the 'China US Automotive Industry Bridge Strategy', which will empower FF's high-value solutions and features to future mass production products, allowing more individual investors and users to enjoy our ultimate technological luxury."
FF Official Weibo
Jia Yueting previously stated that Mr. He, the new car owner, was the first investor in the secondary market of FF.
On June 7th, Jia Yueting also posted a video on Weibo stating that FF will strive to deliver a new car every month before completing strategic investor financing.
Jia Yueting Weibo video screenshot
According to official data from FF Auto, a total of 10 FF 91 2.0 Futurist Alliances were delivered throughout 2023. On February 7, 2024, FF Automobile once again announced the delivery of one FF 91 2.0 Futurist Alliance to the public, along with another one delivered this time. At this point, Jia Yueting has been manufacturing cars for 10 years and has delivered 12 vehicles.
It is worth noting that some people have previously questioned whether out of the 10 cars sold by FF last year, 6 were rented. Jia Yueting previously responded to this by stating that it was a misunderstanding caused by lack of understanding of American car sales or inaccurate translation. In fact, FF actually delivered 10 cars last year, and the purchasing methods include full payment and lease. There are three main forms of car purchase in the United States, in addition to full payment and loan purchase, another sales method that has not yet been implemented in China is Lease. Lease accounts for a very high proportion of new car sales in the United States, and the average proportion of luxury car brand consumers choosing Lease to purchase a car is over 50%. It can be said that it is the most mainstream car sales method in the United States, not just a simple rental as people imagine.
On May 28th local time, Faraday Future's official website disclosed its full year performance for 2023. The report shows that the company's annual revenue for 2023 was $800000, with an operating loss of $286 million. The operating loss in 2022 was 437 million US dollars. This change is due to a significant reduction in operating expenses, from $244 million in 2023 to $437 million in 2022. The improvement in operating expenses this year is mainly due to the company's completion of product development and transition to sales through manufacturing and production, resulting in a decrease in research and development expenses. The net loss for 2023 improved from $602 million in 2022 to $432 million.
As of December 31, 2023, Faraday's future total assets were $531 million and total liabilities were $302 million, while as of December 31, 2022, its total assets were $529 million and total liabilities were $328 million.
As of December 31, 2023, Faraday's future cash balance was $4 million, including $2 million in restricted cash. By contrast, as of December 31, 2022, cash was $17 million. As of May 23, 2024, the company's cash position was approximately $5 million, including $2 million in restricted cash.
