Faraday Future Struggles With Funding, Plans to Enter China

During his recent visit to Beijing, Carsten Breitfeld, the freshly appointed CEO of the troubled EV-maker Faraday Future (FF), told the Chinese news outlet Auto Daily that in the four months since he took over the reins of the company, his core work has been around finding talent, attracting financing and developing their products.

Among his recent star hires are Bob Kruse from General Motors and Benedikt Hartman from BMW, who joined as senior vice president of product execution (engineering and manufacturing) and senior vice president of global supply chain organizations respectively.

Breitfeld complained that the only thing missing from the equation was funding. He noted that investors are hesitant and concerned about engaging with his company. “They are not sure if FF has sufficient execution capabilities. I will lead by example and attract more talent to join. There is also the issue of President Jia’s personal debt. I expect to see results by the end of January,“ he told journalists, adding that Jia Yueting’s negative impact on FF is gradually shrinking.

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On the product side, FF is undergoing further optimization in terms of costs, according to Breitfeld. “Now we have plans to make the FF91 available by September 2020,” he stated.

The company plans to start delivering their FF91 flagship vehicle within about 9 months after the successful completion of equity financing, and start their IPO planning within 15 months after the funds become available. According to the latest estimates, FF still needs $850 million to achieve mass production in the US.

Additionally, Breitfeld has already launched plans to enter China. He revealed that the purpose of his visit to Beijing was to find potential partners in China and establish joint ventures.