Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On August 10, Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, announced on Tuesday that it would start producing self-driving electric tractors for California's Monarch Tractor at its plant in Ohio in early 2023.

As US agriculture turns to smart agriculture, heavy machinery manufacturers, including Deere&Co and Georgia-based AGCO, are looking to the electric vehicle market. It is clear that Foxconn wants to enter this area, too.

Foxconn, known for assembling Apple's iPhone, is Foxconn's first manufacturing contract since it bought the Ohio plant of electric car startup Lordstown Motors last year. The plant used to be an assembly plant for General Motors.

Foxconn said it planned to start producing Monarch Tractor's electric MK-V series of tractors in the first quarter of 2023.

Praveen Penmetsa, chief executive of Monarch Tractor, said: "the most advanced tractors in the manufacturing industry require experienced manufacturing partners to rapidly scale up and execute precisely. Foxconn is the leader of EMS and is world-renowned for its manufacturing and solutions. We are proud to work with Foxconn to change the future of agriculture."

Liu Yangwei, chairman of Foxconn, said: "with Foxconn's manufacturing strengths, industry leadership and global supply network, as well as our new partnership with Monarch Tractor, Foxconn is in a strong position to contribute to the continued and future success of Monarch Tractor, its products and customers. The partnership reflects Foxconn's growing focus on the production of self-driving electric vehicles and the potential for forward-looking cooperation. "

Silicon Valley-based Monarch Tractor last year launched a pilot scheme for many farmers to try out its self-driving electric tractors. Since then, the company has signed a multi-year license agreement with CNH Industrial, an Italian-American carmaker. CNH Industrial has a minority stake in Monarch Tractor.

As competition among agricultural equipment manufacturers to expand precision agricultural technology and self-driving machinery intensifies, Mr Pengmesa says the company's business model targeting small farmers gives them a unique opportunity to increase market share while competing in the same environment as larger manufacturers.

"their technology focuses on large farm operations and commercial crops, but fruit and vegetable growers use much smaller tractors, so we focus on small farmers, which makes a big difference," Pengmesa added. "

Monarch Tractor did not disclose the cost of the tractor, but said the autopilot software would be sold separately and farmers would have to pay a monthly fee to get the service.

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