Faraday Future said on Wednesday that it plans to start production of its futuristic all-electric FF 91 SUV at the end of March after years of delay, lack of capital and internal drama that threatened the company’s existence.
Faraday Future had previously indicated that production would begin in March, but had not yet selected a date.
However, there are two caveats to this milestone. the company said in your full year and fourth quarter earnings report That production start will begin on March 30 if it receives the expected remaining funds from investors and if suppliers can meet its requirements. Faraday Future said in February that it had made financial commitments from $135 million in secured convertible notes, capital that the company said would allow it to start production. Some $111.6 million in funds have been received. The company expects to make further incremental payments of $38.4 and $58.4 million.
CEO Xuefeng Chen said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that he was confident the funds would come through.
The FF 91 will be assembled at its Hanford, California facility. The first vehicles will roll off the assembly line in early April with customer deliveries to take place before the end of that month, the company said. Chen said the company is initially targeting sales in the Los Angeles area followed by San Francisco Bay Area, and he New york meter region. In Porcelain, of the company initial sales efforts willpower begin with Carry off and Beijing, he said.
Faraday Future shares were down 8% at $0.51 a share before the earnings report was released. The production update helped lift shares in after-hours trading around 0.44% despite a rather dismal earnings report.
Faraday Future did not generate any revenue in Q4 or 2022 for that matter. Its operating expenses were $451 million in 2022 compared to $354.1 million a year earlier. Faraday said that most of ooperating expenses were in the first nine months of the year due to an uptick in engineering, design and testing costs.
The company reported a net loss of $552.1 million for 2022, about 7% more than the $516.5 million it lost in the prior-year period. Net loss in the fourth quarter was $153.9 million compared to $84.3 million in the same period last year.
Faraday Future reported that it ended the fourth quarter with $18.5 million in cash and restricted cash. The company’s cash position has improved and is now $37.5 million, including restricted cash of $2.1 million as of March 3, 2023.
While there are strings attached to that production start date, it still marks a game changer for a company that just four months ago had substantial doubts as to whether it could continue to operate over the next year.
At the time, Faraday cited a number of conditions that were delaying deliveries of his FF 91, including whether vendors could meet their deliveries, the timing and success of certification tests, and the implementation and effectiveness of staff reductions. of the company Top of the list of concerns was whether Faraday could secure the funds he needed to get him through the year, let alone get to the first deliveries.
The company’s board of directors ousted CEO Carsten Breitfeld a week later and named Xuefeng Chen, a former Chery Jaguar Land Rover executive who recently headed the Chinese division of Faraday Future, as its new leader.
Faraday Future has dealt with delays and drama for years, which escalated after it went public in July 2021 through a merger with special-purpose acquisition firm Property Solutions Acquisition Corp. In July 2022, the firm brought forward its start of production and first deliveries to the third and fourth quarters, citing supply chain problems and lack of money.
