Shulou(Shulou.com)05/31 Report--

In October, Mike Manley, chief executive of Fiat Chrysler, told investors that he was willing to produce cars powered by other companies' electric vehicle technology. But FCA, which owns brands such as Gyibug and Dodge, is doing more than just thinking about it. The Verge has learned that the carmaker is in talks with at least two troubled electric car start-ups to use its technology to build Fiat Chrysler electric cars-Faraday Future and Seres (formerly SF Motors).

Current and former employees of each start-up (who are allowed to remain anonymous because of confidentiality agreements with their respective companies) describe the discussion as "marginal" and that they are at different stages. Faraday Future Motors modified an FCA car with its electric powertrain technology and conducted a road test in October, according to a former employee familiar with the project. Talks between FCA and Faraday about the future have been going on and off for several months, dating back at least to April, when Ford announced that it would invest in Rivian, an electric vehicle startup. Faraday Future's electric powertrain technology was largely developed by an equally respected team that created GM's first mass market car, the EV1.

Fiat Chrysler held talks with Faraday's future as early as April.

Meanwhile, Ceres was recently asked to install its own electric powertrain on two FCA cars, according to two existing employees. In an email sent to The Verge employees on Oct. 31, CEO James Taylor said his startup "has to do a lot of work to turn this interest into a mass production award, but it reflects OEM's ability, knowledge, strength and the attractiveness of our products to Seres."

Both startups can take advantage of the deal. Faraday will suffer two major financial crises in the future, which will eventually lead to hundreds of layoffs. It recently appointed a new chief executive and is trying to raise $850 million so that its first luxury SUV, called the FF91, can go into production by the end of next year. Seres, an electric car start-up owned by carmaker Sokang, halted plans to launch its own pair of electric SUV earlier this year and laid off at least 90 employees. Since then, the company has refocused on selling its powertrain technology and recently signed an agreement with carmaker BYD to develop power electronics products such as motor controllers.

A spokesman for Fiat Chrysler said the company "does not comment on potential business relationships."

"while we do not rule out future joint ventures and potential partnerships with other original equipment manufacturers, FF will focus on delivering FF91 in 2020," said John Schilling, director of Faraday Communications. "in addition, we are not in a position to discuss future product plans or any potential partnerships at this time." Taylor didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Like many other leading automakers, FCA has announced an ambitious plan to convert most of its new fleet to hybrid or all-electric technology over the next decade. But it is still considered to lag behind competitors such as GM, Ford and Audi.

In a conference call in October, Manley said FCA would not get a return on its electrification investment until 2022. By paying the cost of technology to another company, FCA may put electric vehicles into production earlier or build a broader product lineup with large research and development costs. Manley also said the merger of FCA and Peugeot in France could help popularize the electric vehicle technology on a "large scale".

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