With the recent delivery of 15 Model T electric buses to Tainan Bus in southern Taiwan, Foxconn Technology has officially started mass producing the car that its subsidiary Foxtron Vehicle Technologies created.
In terms of idea, design, and manufacture, the Model T is the first made-in-Taiwan electric bus, according to Foxconn, with 65% of its components coming from partners in the company-founded MIH alliance. The bus has passed a 200,000km endurance test by Taiwan’s Automotive Research and Testing Center and complies with US Transportation Security Administration regulations (ARTC).
The buses are outfitted with ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) that can identify the distance in front of the vehicle, blind spot of driving eyesight, lane deviation, and incorrect driving behaviors, and have a battery range of more than 240 kilometers.
By the end of the year, three urban routes will begin to be served by the 15 Model T electric buses, according to the Tainan City Government.
In March of this year, Foxconn shipped its first Model T to Kaohsiung Bus, a division of SanDi Properties Group, to be used on a 14-kilometer route between a high-speed rail station and a shopping center.
As the only distributor of the Model T electric buses, the group’s other business SanDi Energy has received orders for almost 150 buses, which will be delivered over time.
Foxconn and SanDi are anticipated to work more closely together in Taiwan to create new energy battery cells and services for energy storage.
