sako97
Autotechnik Ace
It's rather peculiar that there isn't a press release..
From the BBC
Start-up Faraday Future has unveiled a self-driving electric car that it says can accelerate from zero to 60mph (97km/h) in 2.39 seconds.
Faraday says the FF91 accelerates faster than Tesla's Model S or any other electric car in production.
It was shown off at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
But Faraday Future has faced financial difficulties and one analyst said it had to challenge "scepticism" following last year's CES presentation.
The FF91 was introduced via a live demo, in which it drove itself around a car park and backed into an empty space.
Pre-recorded footage also showed the car accelerating from standstill to 60mph in 2.39 seconds.
Tesla's fastest model did it in 2.5 seconds on the same track.
Late in the presentation, however, there was an awkward moment when Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting tried to demonstrate the car's self-parking function on stage in front of the audience.
This time, the vehicle remained stationary.
Mr Yueting is chief executive of LeEco - a Chinese video-on-demand and smartphone-maker - which has invested in Faraday.
"OK, it seems like it's a little bit lazy tonight," said Faraday senior vice president Nick Sampson, as the car refused to respond. It eventually complied later when they made a second attempt.
Faraday plans to release the FF91 in 2018. To pre-order, hopefuls will need to provide a refundable $5,000 (£4,080) deposit.
The event came a year after the firm's first press conference, where it showed off a futuristic-looking concept vehicle. Several commentators criticised it at the time for failing to give more detail about what it was actually working on.
Car ID
Prospective buyers were told they would be able to connect to the forthcoming car via a virtual "FFID" account.
With this, Mr Sampson explained, it would be possible to share data - such as movies or route plans - to the car from personal computers, for example.
Faraday Future has lately been in the news for less celebratory reasons - its troubled finances.
In November, it confirmed that work had stopped on a huge factory in Las Vegas intended to manufacture a car backed by investment from LeEco.
A week earlier, the Bloomberg news agency had revealed that Mr Yueting had written to LeEco's employees to say his firm's finances were under pressure.
Image caption Faraday Future has stopped work on its $1bn factory
Ever since it unveiled a futuristic concept car at last year's CES, Faraday Future has been met with much scepticism, said Gartner automotive analyst Mike Ramsay.
"This is a must impress situation," he added.
"Even if everything had been going perfectly, it is very difficult to be a start-up carmaker, particularly when you are coming from a tech background."
Having seen the presentation, Mr Ramsay commented that he was "not convinced" that the firm was yet a clear contender.
"It still seems like it's more in the realm of fantasy than reality," he added.
"For the car to have a 130 kWh battery pack, it would be very heavy, and very expensive - extremely expensive to have a battery that size."
On stage, Faraday executive Peter Savagian explained that the FF19 would be chargeable from various electrical standards.
He added its range would extend to 482 miles (775km) when driven at 55mph.
Many analysts expect interest in electric vehicles to continue to rise in coming years.
"We estimate around one in 10 vehicles will be electric or hybrid by 2020, at around 8 million vehicles," said Simon Bryant at analysts Futuresource.
0-60 time as the main selling point?
From the BBC
Start-up Faraday Future has unveiled a self-driving electric car that it says can accelerate from zero to 60mph (97km/h) in 2.39 seconds.
Faraday says the FF91 accelerates faster than Tesla's Model S or any other electric car in production.
It was shown off at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
But Faraday Future has faced financial difficulties and one analyst said it had to challenge "scepticism" following last year's CES presentation.
The FF91 was introduced via a live demo, in which it drove itself around a car park and backed into an empty space.
Pre-recorded footage also showed the car accelerating from standstill to 60mph in 2.39 seconds.
Tesla's fastest model did it in 2.5 seconds on the same track.
Late in the presentation, however, there was an awkward moment when Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting tried to demonstrate the car's self-parking function on stage in front of the audience.
This time, the vehicle remained stationary.
Mr Yueting is chief executive of LeEco - a Chinese video-on-demand and smartphone-maker - which has invested in Faraday.
"OK, it seems like it's a little bit lazy tonight," said Faraday senior vice president Nick Sampson, as the car refused to respond. It eventually complied later when they made a second attempt.
Faraday plans to release the FF91 in 2018. To pre-order, hopefuls will need to provide a refundable $5,000 (£4,080) deposit.
The event came a year after the firm's first press conference, where it showed off a futuristic-looking concept vehicle. Several commentators criticised it at the time for failing to give more detail about what it was actually working on.
Car ID
Prospective buyers were told they would be able to connect to the forthcoming car via a virtual "FFID" account.
With this, Mr Sampson explained, it would be possible to share data - such as movies or route plans - to the car from personal computers, for example.
Faraday Future has lately been in the news for less celebratory reasons - its troubled finances.
In November, it confirmed that work had stopped on a huge factory in Las Vegas intended to manufacture a car backed by investment from LeEco.
A week earlier, the Bloomberg news agency had revealed that Mr Yueting had written to LeEco's employees to say his firm's finances were under pressure.
Image caption Faraday Future has stopped work on its $1bn factory
Ever since it unveiled a futuristic concept car at last year's CES, Faraday Future has been met with much scepticism, said Gartner automotive analyst Mike Ramsay.
"This is a must impress situation," he added.
"Even if everything had been going perfectly, it is very difficult to be a start-up carmaker, particularly when you are coming from a tech background."
Having seen the presentation, Mr Ramsay commented that he was "not convinced" that the firm was yet a clear contender.
"It still seems like it's more in the realm of fantasy than reality," he added.
"For the car to have a 130 kWh battery pack, it would be very heavy, and very expensive - extremely expensive to have a battery that size."
On stage, Faraday executive Peter Savagian explained that the FF19 would be chargeable from various electrical standards.
He added its range would extend to 482 miles (775km) when driven at 55mph.
Many analysts expect interest in electric vehicles to continue to rise in coming years.
"We estimate around one in 10 vehicles will be electric or hybrid by 2020, at around 8 million vehicles," said Simon Bryant at analysts Futuresource.
0-60 time as the main selling point?
Sunny
Premium
^1000hp, 350+ mile range and 151 cuft of passenger space. But doubt it will become reality, the company is facing lot of financial troubles - http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/22/...ff-cayman-global-problems-jia-leeco-lesee-car.
D
Deleted member 25
This is the VoltaI guess the next company will be called Volta, lol.
PS: terrible looking "car"
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Until then I see Faraday as a vapourware company.
Cashmere
RPM Ruler
Faraday Makes a High-Profile Hire From BMW to Get the FF 91 on the Road
The latest high-profile hire was announced today when Ulrich Kranz, the head of BMW’s Project i electric vehicle team, has joined Faraday after a more than 30-year career at the German automaker.
Faraday Future, the electric car startup backed by an under-siege Chinese entrepreneur, has made another high-profile hire at a time of desperate need for stability.
Ulrich Kranz, the head of BMW’s Project i electric vehicle team, has joined Faraday after a more than 30-year career at the German luxury giant. As chief technology officer, he’ll be tasked with turning the 1,050-horsepower FF 91 from concept to reality amid a cash crunch and concerns about the shaky finances of a top investor, LeEco founder Jia Yueting.
“I’m not a job hopper,” Kranz said in a phone interview. “Some people will probably raise eyebrows” in reaction to the departure from BMW, the engineer said. “But people who know me well know that I can take risks. I’ve always jumped into projects.”
In a Q&A to introduce him at the company, Kranz said about why he joined FF:
“It was pretty easy for me. FF has the right people, the right vision, and a very innovative product. This is why I’m here.”
Referring to Faraday as a risk at this stage might be an understatement. The company last week shelved a $1 billion factory in Nevada, after months of state officials raising doubts about Jia’s financial backing. After Jia made a fortune building Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. into China’s Netflix, expensive forays into movies, smartphones and multiple automotive startups spurred a cash crunch and led a Chinese court to freeze billions of dollars in assets he controlled.
When halting work on the plant in North Las Vegas last week, Faraday said it was in the process of finding another facility that would accelerate the FF 91’s start of production. In May, Bloomberg News reported that the company was planning to raise $1 billion to help insulate itself from Jia’s financial woes.
Link: Faraday Makes a High-Profile Hire From BMW to Get the FF 91 on the Road
This is a pretty ballsy move for Kranz looking at FF's recent cash woes. His statement about why he joined FF also shows that BMWs vision on electric cars is not encouraging.
The latest high-profile hire was announced today when Ulrich Kranz, the head of BMW’s Project i electric vehicle team, has joined Faraday after a more than 30-year career at the German automaker.
Faraday Future, the electric car startup backed by an under-siege Chinese entrepreneur, has made another high-profile hire at a time of desperate need for stability.
Ulrich Kranz, the head of BMW’s Project i electric vehicle team, has joined Faraday after a more than 30-year career at the German luxury giant. As chief technology officer, he’ll be tasked with turning the 1,050-horsepower FF 91 from concept to reality amid a cash crunch and concerns about the shaky finances of a top investor, LeEco founder Jia Yueting.
“I’m not a job hopper,” Kranz said in a phone interview. “Some people will probably raise eyebrows” in reaction to the departure from BMW, the engineer said. “But people who know me well know that I can take risks. I’ve always jumped into projects.”
In a Q&A to introduce him at the company, Kranz said about why he joined FF:
“It was pretty easy for me. FF has the right people, the right vision, and a very innovative product. This is why I’m here.”
Referring to Faraday as a risk at this stage might be an understatement. The company last week shelved a $1 billion factory in Nevada, after months of state officials raising doubts about Jia’s financial backing. After Jia made a fortune building Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. into China’s Netflix, expensive forays into movies, smartphones and multiple automotive startups spurred a cash crunch and led a Chinese court to freeze billions of dollars in assets he controlled.
When halting work on the plant in North Las Vegas last week, Faraday said it was in the process of finding another facility that would accelerate the FF 91’s start of production. In May, Bloomberg News reported that the company was planning to raise $1 billion to help insulate itself from Jia’s financial woes.
Link: Faraday Makes a High-Profile Hire From BMW to Get the FF 91 on the Road
This is a pretty ballsy move for Kranz looking at FF's recent cash woes. His statement about why he joined FF also shows that BMWs vision on electric cars is not encouraging.
EnI
Piston Pioneer
Wapoware ....
Electric Carmaker Faraday Future Halts Work on Nevada Plant
Faraday Future, the electric-vehicle startup backed by LeEco founder Jia Yueting, halted plans to build a $1 billion factory in Nevada as the troubled tycoon fights for the survival of his Chinese car business.
The plant in North Las Vegas that was due to build Faraday’s 1,050-horsepower FF 91has been put on hold, according to an emailed statement. Faraday earlier this year claimed the FF 91 would be the world’s fastest electric car, beating souped-up versions of Tesla Inc.’s Model S sedan.
“We are in the process of identifying a manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options,” Faraday said in the statement.
The halt marks another setback for one of China’s most outspoken and controversial entrepreneurs. Jia made a fortune building Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. into China’s answer to Netflix, then struggled as he tried to expand into smartphones, movies and autos.
Amid a cash crunch, Jia ceded the chief executive officer role at Leshi and last week said he would step down from its board to focus on serving as chairman of LeEco’s auto unit and Faraday Future. Jia asked in a Weibo post for LeEco to be given more time to repay its debts after a Chinese court froze billions of dollars in assets that he controlled.
Rights Retained
“We’re moving our FF 91 plant to a new location to ensure on-time delivery of our product,” Jia said in a post on WeChat. “We’re now doing our utmost to adjust our existing factory and buying equipment, to get to mass production as soon as possible.”
In a Chinese statement attached to the post, Faraday Future added it would keep all rights to its site in North Las Vegas and still planned to build a vehicle production facility there in the long term.
Construction on Faraday’s Nevada factory paused at one point late last year when the facility’s building contractor claimed payments had stopped. At least two other suppliers, including a car-seat maker and media-services provider, took legal action to force Faraday to pay its debts. While Jia’s a backer of Faraday Future, he said LeEco doesn’t own any shares in the carmaker.
The state’s agreement with Faraday required the company to fully invest a minimum of $1 billion to receive incentives, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development said in an emailed statement.
“The state recognized both the opportunity a large manufacturing facility could provide as well as the inherent risk associated with a startup company attempting this endeavor,” the governor’s office said. “The agreement with Faraday held Nevada’s citizens harmless from the risk associated with this project.”
Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz questioned Jia’s plans for the electric-car plant there last year. He called the billionaire’s strategy of borrowing to finance so many new businesses so quickly unsustainable. “This is all Fantasyland,” he said at the time. “The best analogy is the Emperor’s New Clothes. There’s nothing there.”
Electric Carmaker Faraday Future Halts Work on Nevada Plant
Electric Carmaker Faraday Future Halts Work on Nevada Plant
- Company puts $1 billion North Las Vegas factory on hold
- LeEco’s Jia Yueting faces cash shortage, asset freeze
Faraday Future, the electric-vehicle startup backed by LeEco founder Jia Yueting, halted plans to build a $1 billion factory in Nevada as the troubled tycoon fights for the survival of his Chinese car business.
The plant in North Las Vegas that was due to build Faraday’s 1,050-horsepower FF 91has been put on hold, according to an emailed statement. Faraday earlier this year claimed the FF 91 would be the world’s fastest electric car, beating souped-up versions of Tesla Inc.’s Model S sedan.
“We are in the process of identifying a manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options,” Faraday said in the statement.
The halt marks another setback for one of China’s most outspoken and controversial entrepreneurs. Jia made a fortune building Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. into China’s answer to Netflix, then struggled as he tried to expand into smartphones, movies and autos.
Amid a cash crunch, Jia ceded the chief executive officer role at Leshi and last week said he would step down from its board to focus on serving as chairman of LeEco’s auto unit and Faraday Future. Jia asked in a Weibo post for LeEco to be given more time to repay its debts after a Chinese court froze billions of dollars in assets that he controlled.
Rights Retained
“We’re moving our FF 91 plant to a new location to ensure on-time delivery of our product,” Jia said in a post on WeChat. “We’re now doing our utmost to adjust our existing factory and buying equipment, to get to mass production as soon as possible.”
In a Chinese statement attached to the post, Faraday Future added it would keep all rights to its site in North Las Vegas and still planned to build a vehicle production facility there in the long term.
Construction on Faraday’s Nevada factory paused at one point late last year when the facility’s building contractor claimed payments had stopped. At least two other suppliers, including a car-seat maker and media-services provider, took legal action to force Faraday to pay its debts. While Jia’s a backer of Faraday Future, he said LeEco doesn’t own any shares in the carmaker.
The state’s agreement with Faraday required the company to fully invest a minimum of $1 billion to receive incentives, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development said in an emailed statement.
“The state recognized both the opportunity a large manufacturing facility could provide as well as the inherent risk associated with a startup company attempting this endeavor,” the governor’s office said. “The agreement with Faraday held Nevada’s citizens harmless from the risk associated with this project.”
Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz questioned Jia’s plans for the electric-car plant there last year. He called the billionaire’s strategy of borrowing to finance so many new businesses so quickly unsustainable. “This is all Fantasyland,” he said at the time. “The best analogy is the Emperor’s New Clothes. There’s nothing there.”
Electric Carmaker Faraday Future Halts Work on Nevada Plant
sako97
Autotechnik Ace
Yet even more fascinating that a BMW Veteran that has been with the company for 30 years and headed the development of the BMW i3/i8 would jump ship to FF after ALL the bad rep FF has gotten in the media lately. Makes one wonder what is going on at BMW
It's safe to assume he was offered mucho dinero in order to be poached from BMW.
Everything about this company just seems off to me. Even startup competitor Lucid Motors gaining some sort of credibility.
Cashmere
RPM Ruler
INTERFACE Q+A: Chief Technology Officer Ulrich Kranz
FF is proud to welcome Ulrich Kranz as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Kranz may be a new face at FF, but he arrives as a veteran automotive industry leader. After 30 years working in the established automotive world, he joined FF at a pivotal moment in the development of FF 91.
Why FF?
It was pretty easy for me. FF has the right people, the right vision, and a very innovative product. This is why I’m here.
What’s the most exciting aspect about joining FF?
This is the first time that I’m in a startup atmosphere. As far as I know, the decision-making process is much quicker. People are also willing to take some risks, and they work on new, virtual tools to get things out in a much quicker way. This is what I saw when I visited the first time: highly motivated people.
What stood out when you first visited?
I wanted to be at a company that is really, 100 percent focused on the future, and not just introducing another electric vehicle. What I saw here is the vision of YT Jia, to create a complete ecosystem. When I saw what the team had already done, I was deeply impressed.
What part of FF speaks most to the future?
What speaks to the future is the seamless integration of the internet in the vehicle. If you have an electric car, it’s much easier to do that. The electrical architecture is already designed in a way that we can introduce even more features in the future—which is not the case in the traditional auto industry.
Why is electric propulsion the technology of the future?
Electric propulsion will be the technology of the future. I come from electro-mobility, and I know that once customers use an electric car, they will never go back to a combustion engine. They will probably ask for more range—which is what we are doing—but they will never go back. The younger generation, which is focused on the environment, might not even buy a car, but use one by the minute or the hour.
What is your short-term goal at FF?
The short-term goal is to get FF 91 on the road. We will stress this goal 100 times every day. We want to show the world that FF is able to produce a high-quality vehicle that is more than an electric car.
What has guided your career?
I do my best by talking to people, listening to people, and figuring out which people are best for each job. This has guided me throughout my 30+ years in the automotive industry. I am good at finding the right people and putting them in the right position.
Cashmere
RPM Ruler
FYI, Lucid Motors and Faraday Future are both heavily funded by the same parent Chinese company - LeEco.
I agree with you, on the surface, Lucid Motors does seem to have their act together compared to FF.
Sunny
Premium
Leeco shutdown pretty much all their US operations. Apprently they also sold off their Lucid stake - LeEco Founder Jia Yueting Sells Stake In US EV Firm Lucid Motors. Not sure what that means for their financial viability.
sako97
Autotechnik Ace
Ah, wasn't aware of that. Shows how much I know/care about these "out of nowhere" car companies.
Once again - vapourware on wheels.
EnI
Piston Pioneer
Yet even more fascinating that a BMW Veteran that has been with the company for 30 years and headed the development of the BMW i3/i8 would jump ship to FF after ALL the bad rep FF has gotten in the media lately. Makes one wonder what is going on at BMW
Herr Ulrich Kranz hasn't been BMW i Head since 1. January 2017 when he was replaced by Herr Robert Irlinger.
So, it's fake news that "BMW i boss is leaving BMW for FF ". Ex-boss, that's correct.
Herr Kranz will be 60 this year ... meaning he is obligated to retire from his BMW Group senior managerial position - under the BMW AG's notorious "Rule 60".
It's usual for old(er) BMW managers to leave the company for some other one where they are still desired. And many of them doesn't will like retiring @ 60, so they are seeking new challenges. Less established carmakers & start-ups welcome they with open arms.
Nothing's going on @ BMW ... The problem are the ignorant "journalists" who are generating "fake news" since tabloid-like reporting with big , fat titles sells.
Cashmere
RPM Ruler
Faraday Future Loses Five Senior Executives
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for troubled startup Faraday Future, it has been revealed that five senior executives have left, or are leaving, the company.
Jalopnik revealed in October that the company’s director of interior design and brand, Pontus Fontaeus, recently left the firm. Just a couple of days prior, Faraday’s head of supply chain management, Tom Wessner, resigned. Three more scalps have been added to that list.
The startup has revealed that its chief financial officer, Stefan Krause, resigned on October 14 but no reason for his decision has been made public.
Krause, a former executive at both BMW and Deutsche Bank, joined Faraday Future in March in a bid to court investors and raise money for the company’s ambitious production plans and its first model, the FF 91. The startup failed to secure any major funding because Chinese billionaire backer Jia Yueting refused to release his grasp on the company.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, two other executives are said to be on their way out, The Verge reports. The first, chief technology officer Ulrich Kranz, formerly of BMW, is allegedly leaving or has already left the company. What’s more, former Ford Fusion program leader Bill Strickland is said to be on his way out.
car scoops
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for troubled startup Faraday Future, it has been revealed that five senior executives have left, or are leaving, the company.
Jalopnik revealed in October that the company’s director of interior design and brand, Pontus Fontaeus, recently left the firm. Just a couple of days prior, Faraday’s head of supply chain management, Tom Wessner, resigned. Three more scalps have been added to that list.
The startup has revealed that its chief financial officer, Stefan Krause, resigned on October 14 but no reason for his decision has been made public.
Krause, a former executive at both BMW and Deutsche Bank, joined Faraday Future in March in a bid to court investors and raise money for the company’s ambitious production plans and its first model, the FF 91. The startup failed to secure any major funding because Chinese billionaire backer Jia Yueting refused to release his grasp on the company.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, two other executives are said to be on their way out, The Verge reports. The first, chief technology officer Ulrich Kranz, formerly of BMW, is allegedly leaving or has already left the company. What’s more, former Ford Fusion program leader Bill Strickland is said to be on his way out.
car scoops
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