Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. will delay the start of production on its flagship vehicle until later this year.
“Due to recent supply chain issues, start of production and first deliveries of the company’s FF 91 flagship electric vehicle in the United States are now expected to commence in the third or fourth quarter of 2022,” the startup company stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from July 25.
The Gardena-based manufacturer had originally planned on beginning production on the FF 91 in the second or third quarter.
The company also said that it needs more financing to continue operating.
“The company needs additional cash to commercially launch the FF 91 and is currently seeking to raise additional capital to fund its operations through December 31, 2022,” it said in the filing.
The company’s cash needs post-FF 91 launch will depend on the extent to which actual costs vary from estimates and its ability to control those costs and raise additional capital, the filing said.
“Any challenges in supplier engagements, delays in ramping capacity or labor at the company’s Hanford, California, manufacturing facility or for sales and service engagements, rising prices of materials, or ongoing global supply chain disruptions may further increase the need for additional capital to launch the FF 91 series,” the filing continued.
“Apart from the FF 91 series, substantial additional capital will be required to fund operations, research, development, and design efforts for future vehicles,” the filing said.
The FF 91 is a four-door electric vehicle with three motors; it can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than three seconds. It uses lithium-ion batteries with a range of 300 miles per charge.
Faraday Future was founded in 2014 and has spent more than $2 billion on developing the FF 91 and its second vehicle, the FF 81. South Korean car manufacturer Myoung Shin Co. Ltd. has been contracted to produce the FF 81, which is scheduled to begin production in 2024.
Faraday went public via a SPAC in July of last year. A SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, is one that exists solely to buy another company to take it public.
Faraday reported on May 23 a net loss of $153 million, (48 cents a share) for the quarter ending March 31, compared with a net loss of $76 million (48 cents a share) in the same period a year earlier.
The company had no revenue, but reported an operating loss of $149 million in the quarter, compared to an operating loss of $19 million in the same period of the prior year.
