Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (TPE:2317), the Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturing company is in discussions with Audi AG (ETR:NSU) (FRA:NSU) and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (FRA:BMW) to establish a manufacturing partnership.
Hon Hai plans to make huge investment in Germany
Terry Gou, chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (TPE:2317) invited Michael Zickerick, director general of the German Institute in Taipei to attend the company’s charity festival. Gou told Zickerick that his company plans to make a large investment in Germany in the future.
During the annual charity Festival of the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing contractor, Gou said, “One reason is that we will have very big development plans with German car makers, including Audi and BMW.” Gou did not elaborate on the company’s plans.
Other key investment areas
Indonesia is another key investment area for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (TPE:2317). The company is planning to establish manufacturing facilities in the country to produce mobile devices for BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). The Taiwanese manufacturing contractor also intend to build a machine-to-machine network with the Canadian smartphone manufacturer.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (TPE:2317) is also looking for locations to build automation plants and facilities for cloud computing in the United States, which remained its largest market.
Audi & BMW demonstrate latest technology
Gou announced the planned investments of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (TPE:2317) with the German luxury car makers after recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas where Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (FRA:BMW) introduced its i3 electric car, which is integrated with ultrasound sensors to locate parking spaces parallel to the road. The i3 has the ability to take over the parking space easily because it has electronically controlled steering.
In addition, the i3 has a safety assistance system that makes sure that the vehicle is in an appropriate line during demanding driving situations without any input from the driver.
On the other hand, Audi AG (ETR:NSU) (FRA:NSU) also revealed its award-winning piloted driving technology using its A6 sedan during the CES. The luxury car manufacturer demonstrated that the technology has the ability to control the acceleration, brakes, and steering for the driver.
“Electric vehicles, including plug-in models, are becoming an increasingly important part of the global automotive market,” said Dave Hurst, principal research analyst at Navigant Research. The research firm estimated that the sales for light-duty hybrid vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles will increase to 6.6 million by 2020.
