Los Angeles-based company Faraday Future is providing another glimpse of its electric car concept with another couple of teaser images. According to Autocar UK, the electric concept, which is autonomous as well, will be unveiled at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in January, and will take on Tesla in 2017.
While the model still goes without a name, beneath it is reportedly a 98 kWh battery that has 15% more capacity than that of the 85 kWh litihium-ion cell found in the Tesla Model S. If that’s the case, the concept could have a travel range of up to 482 km. Earlier, the company also said that it will be a “fully-connected and personalised in ways never even considered possible.”
Richard Kim, former BMW designer and now head of design at Faraday Future said, “I want to see a scenario where you sit in traffic for two hours, where you’re connected, there’s aromatherapy and a really nice chair in an ergonomic position. You can get a tonne of work done, watch a movie. With time, you don’t just want to connect, you want to be able to disconnect and relax.” This is perhaps an indication of what can be expected.
Uniquely, although unconfirmed, the company doesn’t intend to sell its vehicles in a traditional manner – it prefers to lease its cars instead. Customers can charter different kinds of vehicles, depending on their needs. “Perhaps having a city car to get to work, but the platform knows that every weekend you need a larger vehicle for the family,” Kim said.
In addition to that, Nick Sampson, senior VP of R&D and engineering said that part of the company’s revenue will be earned in a way similar to smartphones. “Our business model is not based around moving a car out of the dealer. We envision this like a smartphone. The revenue starts once you get the device in the owner’s hands. We’re looking at subscriptions and apps and other opportunities,” he said.
The company will be looking to launch a total of seven different models – it says the debutant will be followed by a range of vehicles in a faster way than others have achieved. The brand is reportedly investing USD$1 billion (RM4.24 billion) in a new US factory to build its electric cars.
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“I want to see a scenario where you sit in traffic for two hours, where you’re connected, there’s aromatherapy and a really nice chair in an ergonomic position. You can get a tonne of work done, watch a movie. With time, you don’t just want to connect, you want to be able to disconnect and relax.”
Better add a toilet inside the car to complete the entire experience.