Electric vehicle startup Faraday Future announced the official start of production of the luxury electric vehicle FF 91 Futurist. It has been over six years since the release of the first FF 91 Futurist. Workers pushed the white body frame of the FF 91 onto the stage at the press conference, but the assembly line was nowhere to be seen.
Although production is an important milestone for electric vehicle startups, Faraday Future did not disclose how many cars they can produce in a day or week, nor did they predict the quarterly or annual production volume of the car.
Faraday Future also did not disclose how many people have actually ordered the car. In May 2022, the company admitted that there were only 401 pre-orders, not over 14,000 as stated in 2021. Furthermore, Faraday Future did not showcase a complete production car at the press conference, only having employees push a white body frame of the FF 91 Futurist onto the stage. In addition, the company did not showcase the car assembly line, only showing how robots weld.
Founder Jia Yueting said at the press conference, “As a disrupter of the traditional ultra-luxury car culture, the production of the FF 91 Futurist marks the most solid step Faraday Future has taken. This is the promise we made to our customers and shareholders, and today we have successfully fulfilled that promise.”
Media analysis suggests that Faraday Future has not really started production, and perhaps the FF 91 Futurist is only partially in production rather than in full.
Just four months ago, Faraday Future’s “ongoing business” capability and the FF 91’s delivery time were questioned by investors. At the time, FF and its largest shareholder had a series of disputes over the company’s governance, resulting in a just-concluded board restructuring.
An FF spokesperson said the company will begin delivering cars to customers at the end of April 2023.
Faraday Future’s first electric vehicle is expected to be launched simultaneously in China and the United States. The company uses a direct sales model, but says customers can test drive at Faraday Future and partner showrooms or experience centers.
Faraday Future said it will soon launch its first flagship brand experience center project in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. This year’s sales will start in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area and then the New York metropolitan area. In addition, the company said FF will first sell cars in Shanghai and Beijing.
Faraday Future also said that the electric vehicle components of the FF 91 Futurist, as well as the computing, sensing, communication components, and user interface, have recently undergone “major upgrades”.
The FF 91 Futurist is said to be comparable to Ferrari, Maybach, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley, with a maximum power of 1,050 horsepower, an EPA-certified range of 381 miles (about 613 kilometers), and an acceleration time of less than 2.3 seconds from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour. Faraday Future has not yet announced the specific price of the FF 91 Futurist, but consumers can pre-order through the US website with a deposit of $1,500 or $500.
