Foxconn Sells Former GM Factory After EV Production Fails, Eyes AI Servers

Foxconn, the global electronics manufacturing giant, has sold the former General Motors factory in Lordstown, Ohio, which it acquired three years ago. The sale comes after the company failed to establish significant electric vehicle (EV) production at the site, marking a notable shift in its ambitious plans for U.S. manufacturing revival.

This divestiture represents Foxconn’s second major setback in its promises to bolster American manufacturing. Previously, the company committed to building a large-scale LCD factory in Wisconsin, a project lauded by former President Donald Trump as the “eighth wonder of the world.” However, that initiative ultimately underdelivered significantly on its initial scope and job creation promises.

The new buyer of the Ohio facility is identified as “Crescent Dune LLC,” described by Foxconn as an “existing business partner.” Records indicate this entity was newly formed in Delaware just 12 days prior to the announcement. Matt Dewine, a spokesperson for Foxconn, declined to provide further details about the buyer.

Foxconn reportedly sold the factory and its associated land for approximately $88 million. An additional $287 million was secured from the sale of machinery and equipment belonging to its EV subsidiaries, according to filings made with the Taiwan stock exchange.

While a Foxconn representative told Automotive News that the company remains committed to manufacturing products for customers at the Lordstown facility and within the automotive sector, The Wall Street Journal reported that Foxconn now intends to repurpose the plant for AI server production. Foxconn has not immediately commented on this specific report.

Foxconn initially announced its intent to purchase the former GM plant in 2021 for $230 million from the EV startup Lordstown Motors. At the time, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu envisioned the site as the “most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America.”

Despite its strategic focus on contract manufacturing in the U.S., Foxconn’s EV ventures at the Lordstown facility faced considerable challenges. Several electric vehicle companies that Foxconn had partnered with or hoped would operate at the plant subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

Foxconn did produce a limited number of EVs for Lordstown Motors, but the relationship soured. Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy in June 2023, alleging that Foxconn, an investor in the company, had “starved it of cash” and “maliciously and in bad faith destroyed that business.”

Another partnership involved IndiEV, an electric SUV startup that planned to use the Ohio factory. IndiEV filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 with minimal assets. Foxconn was also slated to build EVs for Fisker Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in June 2024.

A fourth company, Monarch Tractor, has seen limited production, with Foxconn manufacturing only a few hundred electric tractors. Monarch’s CEO, Praveen Penmetsa, did not respond to inquiries regarding the future of tractor production at the Ohio site.