Foxconn has sold the former GM factory it has owned for three years after failing to stand up any meaningful, large-scale electric vehicle production there. The pivot marks the second major failure of Foxconn to deliver on its promises to help revive U.S. manufacturing. The iPhone-maker once promised to build a giant LCD factory in Wisconsin — a project that Donald Trump called the “eighth wonder of the world” during his first term — and wound up underdelivering to an extreme degree.\n\nFoxconn says the buyer is an “existing business partner” named “Crescent Dune LLC,” an entity that was created in Delaware just 12 days ago, according to records filed with the state. Matt Dewine, a spokesperson for Foxconn, declined to say more about the buyer. Foxconn sold the factory and land for around $88 million and machinery and equipment from its EV subsidiaries for around $287 million, Taiwan stock exchange filings show.\n\nA Foxconn representative told Automotive News the company will remain “involved in the manufacturing of products for customers at the Lordstown facility” and claimed it is “committed to customers and suppliers” in the automotive industry. But The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Foxconn now plans to build AI servers at the factory. Dewine did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.\n\nFoxconn announced the deal to buy the former GM plant in 2021 for $230 million, when it was still owned by EV startup Lordstown Motors. At the time, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said it was going to be the “most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America.”\n\nWhile Foxconn was developing EVs of its own in Asia, it was also focused on contract manufacturing in the United States. And, in short order, three of the electric vehicle companies Foxconn hoped would occupy the factory went bankrupt.

Foxconn sells former GM factory to mystery buyer after failing to make EVs

Foxconn sold its former GM factory in Wisconsin after failing to produce electric vehicles there, marking a second major failure in its efforts to revive U.S. manufacturing. The sale, valued at $375 million, was to Crescent Dune LLC, a newly formed Delaware entity. Foxconn plans to repurpose the facility for AI servers, while three EV startups that had planned to use the factory went bankrupt.