Foxconn decided to become Android for electric vehicles

The largest iPhone assembler, Taiwan's Hon Hai (Foxconn), has adapted the strategy of Apple's main competitor - Google - in the field of electric vehicles. Modeled after Android in software, it launched a widely adaptable and scalable platform for the development and production of electric vehicles.

The MIH Open Platform allows customers to develop almost complete electric vehicles - whether it's an SUV or a sedan - with the assurance that the main structural elements will match and that Foxconn can manufacture and assemble them. Software solutions are also integrated here, including autopilot. In addition, the company promises potential customers access to its main innovation - fully solid-state batteries, which should begin mass production in 2024.

If the unified platform succeeds, it will lead Foxconn to a market leader estimated at $800 billion a year by 2027.

This move is also explained by the fact that the production of smartphones, which accounts for the lion's share of Foxconn's business, is low-margin and labor-intensive. The company's participation in the production of electric vehicles will allow diversifying sales markets and increasing margins.

Foxconn chief executive William Wei said the company's goal is to be the Android of electric vehicles. The market share of the Android operating system is the largest thanks to open source software (any user can download the source code and modify it to suit their needs without making the code available to everyone).

• In September, Russia ranked 23rd out of 25 in KPMG's EV readiness ranking. The leaders were the Netherlands and Norway, worse than Russia - only Brazil and India. The unpopularity of electric cars in the local market was explained by their high cost.