Foxconn Sells Ex-GM Plant to Mysterious Buyer Amid EV Production Challenges

Foxconn has sold the former GM factory it purchased three years ago due to its inability to launch significant electric vehicle production there.

This change marks Foxconn’s second major failure in meeting its promises to rejuvenate U.S. manufacturing. The company, known for making iPhones, had previously vowed to build a massive LCD factory in Wisconsin—a project that Donald Trump once dubbed the “eighth wonder of the world” during his presidency—but ultimately did not meet expectations.

Foxconn revealed that the buyer is an “existing business partner,” identified as “Crescent Dune LLC,” which was registered in Delaware just 12 days prior, according to state records. Matt Dewine, a spokesperson for Foxconn, did not disclose additional information regarding the buyer.

The factory and property were sold for around $88 million, with equipment and machinery from Foxconn’s EV subsidiaries valued at approximately $287 million, as reported in filings on the Taiwan stock exchange.

A Foxconn representative told Automotive News that the company intends to remain “involved in the manufacturing of products for customers at the Lordstown facility” and reiterated its dedication to customers and suppliers in the automotive sector. However, The Wall Street Journal noted that Foxconn is now exploring the production of AI servers at the site. Dewine did not provide an immediate comment on this development.

In 2021, Foxconn announced its intentions to acquire the former GM plant for $230 million while it was still owned by EV startup Lordstown Motors. Foxconn Chairman Young Liu had stated it would become the “most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America.”

While developing its own EV designs in Asia, Foxconn was also focused on contract manufacturing in the U.S. Shortly thereafter, three electric vehicle companies that Foxconn hoped would utilize the factory went bankrupt.

Foxconn was able to manufacture a few EVs for the now-defunct Lordstown Motors but soon found itself in a contentious dispute with the struggling startup. In June 2023, Lordstown Motors declared bankruptcy, alleging that Foxconn—its investor—was “starving it of cash,” and accused Foxconn of “maliciously and in bad faith destroying that business.”

Foxconn also invested in a small EV startup called IndiEV, which aimed to produce its electric SUV at the Ohio facility. However, IndiEV filed for bankruptcy in October 2023, with less than $3 million in funding. Moreover, Foxconn was set to manufacture EVs for Fisker Inc., but Fisker declared bankruptcy in June 2024.

A fourth company, Monarch Tractor, has made little impact, with Foxconn producing only a few hundred electric tractors. Monarch’s CEO, Praveen Penmetsa, has not responded to an email inquiry about the future production of its tractors in Ohio.