Skip to main content

Quiet but still alive, Faraday Future plans to start FF 91 production in 2018

Has Faraday Future finally stepped off the roller coaster ride it’s been stuck on since the FF 91’s botched CES debut?

Recommended Videos

After serious financial issues rocked Faraday Future like a ship in a gale, the young California-based, Chinese-backed company spent the first half of 2018 buried deep in an unusual silence. It has emerged from dormancy to announce that it has completed the first FF 91 body-in-white, an industry term used to denote a full, finished body without paint, trim, and interior pieces, or powertrain components. That’s a major step on the path to mass production.

Getting there was easier said than done; Faraday explains that the FF 91 uses more than 1,500 self-piercing rivets that hold its aluminum structure together, for example. Faraday also mastered the difficult technique of welding aluminum to steel and incorporated “transducerized” torque tools into the production process to improve traceability, error-proofing, and precision.

Faraday notes that it reached this significant milestone slightly ahead of schedule. It still aims to begin series production of the luxurious, all-electric FF 91 in December 2018. The first customers to receive the car will be the ones who reserved it when the order book opened in early 2018. Production will take place in a former Pirelli factory located about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, where the company’s headquarters are located.

The specifications sheet hasn’t changed. Faraday Future still predicts the FF 91 will perform the benchmark zero to 60 mph run in under three seconds, a figure that will make it one of the fastest cars in the world. Bugatti’s Chiron does the deed in 2.3 seconds; the limited-edition Dodge Challenger Demon and top-spec variants of the Tesla Model S match that figure. Range? More than 300 miles, according to early estimates. That figure beats the Model S and Jaguar’s I-Pace.

Pricing hasn’t been announced. “We will officially announce the pricing later this year. It will be in the premium segment,” a company spokesperson told Digital Trends via email. We expect it will start somewhere in the low six digits.

Of course, as Tesla recently found out with the Model 3, turning predictions into a fleet of reliable, high-quality cars is a tall order. Time will tell whether Faraday Future can learn from its rival’s mistakes or if it will fall in the same trap.

Update: added FF quote about pricing.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Volkswagen breaks ground on U.S. electric car factory, production starts in 2022
volkswagen breaks ground on united states electric car factory id crozz concept

Shortly after starting mass production of electric cars in Germany, Volkswagen took the first step toward doing the same in the United States. VW previously said it would start making electric cars at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory in 2022. Now the German automaker has broken ground on an expansion of the factory to make that happen.

The expansion includes a 564,000-square-foot addition to the factory's body shop, and a new 198,000-square-foot facility that will assemble battery packs. Volkswagen is spending $800 million on the expansion, and expects to add 1,000 jobs in Chattanooga.

Read more
Ram 1500 REV vs. Ford F-150 Lightning: Classic trucks go electric
Ford F-150 Lightning

The first Ram electric pickup truck is on the way. The Ram 1500 REV is set to be one of the most desirable electric trucks out there, thanks not only to the Ram name but also to its high-end specifications.

But, of course, it's certainly not the first electric truck out there. The Ford F-150 Lightning is a favorite among electric truck buyers, thanks to the fact that it continues that Ford F-150 legacy with a tried-and-true design coupled with new technologies.

Read more
You can now charge your General Motors EV at a Tesla Supercharger
GM opens up access to more than 17,800 Tesla Superchargers

Taking a road trip in a General Motors-built electric car just got a lot more convenient. EVs made by Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac are now compatible with Tesla's Supercharger charging stations, though drivers will need to purchase an adapter before they can start plugging in.

Opening the Supercharger network to General Motors-built EVs adds over 17,800 charging stations to the list of places where drivers can stop and charge. This should take some of the stress out of taking an EV on a long trip, as Tesla's Supercharger stations are scattered across the nation and built in strategic locations. Tesla notes that a Supercharger is capable of adding up to 200 miles of range in about 15 minutes.

Read more