The largest contract electronics manufacturer in the world, Foxconn of Taiwan, announced that it will begin producing driverless electric tractors for California-based Monarch Tractor in Lordstown, Ohio, at the beginning of 2023.
As the U.S. agriculture industry transitions to smart farming, heavy machinery manufacturers, like Deere & Co. and Georgia-based AGCO, have their sights set on the electric vehicle market.
“This partnership reflects Foxconn’s growing center of gravity for autonomous electric vehicle production and the potential that can emerge from forward-thinking collaborations,” Young Liu, chairman of Hon Hai Technology Group, as Foxconn is formally known, said in a statement.
First manufacturing contract Foxconn
The agreement with Monarch Tractor is the first manufacturing contract Foxconn, best known for assembling Apple Inc’s iPhone, has entered since purchasing the Ohio facility that was formerly a General Motors Assembly plant in 2021.
According to Foxconn, Monarch’s battery-operated MK-V series tractor would start to be produced in the first quarter of 2023.
Silicon Valley-based Monarch introduced its first self-driving electric tractor last year and has since signed a multi-year licencing deal with Italian-American carmaker CNH Industrial. Monarch Tractor is owned by CNH Industrial in a minority capacity.
Monarch Tractor is owned by CNH Industrial in a minority capacity. Monarch’s chief executive, Praveen Penmetsa, told Reuters that the company’s business model to target smaller farmers gives them a unique opportunity to increase the market share while being on the same playing field with bigger manufacturers as competition among farm equipment manufacturers to expand product lines in precision agriculture technology and autonomous machinery is heating up.
Focus on large farm operations
“Their technology is focused on large farm operations and commodity crops. Fruits and vegetable farmers use much smaller tractors so we are focused on smaller farmers – that differentiates us a lot,” Penmetsa said.
The company did not disclose the cost of the tractor but said the autonomous software will be sold separately and that farmers will have to pay a monthly fee to access the services.
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