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Foxconn Offers Electric Car Rental Service In China

Taco Cowboy writes: Foxconn plans to expand its electric-car rental business in ten more cities in China. Since starting the business in Beijing last year, they have launched similar services in Hangzhou and Changzhou. Another business in Guiyang will open with 100 electric vehicles in July. The service is activated through an app, website, or WeChat platform, and customers will be able to use the car with a QR code. The vehicles come equipped with internet connectivity and warns drivers of low battery and shows the nearest charging stations. The company is also working on a platform for the operation of new energy vehicles saying: "Foxconn's telematics devices have also entered BMW's supply chain, and the company is also shipping 17-inch in-car displays to Tesla. Additionally, Foxconn has also teamed up with China-based Chery to supply the automaker with digital dashboards, telematics devices, wireless charging boards and vehicle safety systems."

20 comments

  1. Lithium is this Gens "Mad Hatter" by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    lithium and heavy metal poisoning go together with Alice's Mad Hatter and mercury.

    1. Re:Lithium is this Gens "Mad Hatter" by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      lithium and heavy metal poisoning go together with Alice's Mad Hatter and mercury.

      Lithium is not particularly toxic. It occurs naturally in seawater, and it is a necessary trace element for human life. Most people would benefit from having a little more in their diet and/or drinking water, and their have been proposals to add small amounts to drinking water to improve health.

  2. Taxi cab companies are fighting the wrong oponent by Trachman · · Score: 1

    Da*g! Taxicab companies are fighting wrong enemy. Uber is not their enemy.

    Their enemy the airports of the world who will start providing service of picking up a passanger from home with automatic electric recheargeable vehicle as well as delivering the passenger from their home to the airport.

    Automated electric autonomous airport shuttle service!

    Predictable routes, access charging stations in the airports, availability of precious parking, Uber-like on demand and capacity planning of logistics, absence of unions, can become a very profitable business for the airports. Add on top of that transparent pricing, not exactly favoured by human airport taxi drivers and many people will prefer automatic taxicab.

    As such Taxicabs WILL be competing with automated cars.

    Difficult to tell who will be operating: airports themselves or they will out-license to companies such as Avis or Herz, but car rental companies, such as Foxconn, armed with new technologies, will change the landscape in the most innovative ways. After the most lucrative (widely known secret) airport transportation business is skimmed, the business model will be expanded to the rest of the taxi business.

  3. Just a little more towards the west, please! by Balthisar · · Score: 1, Troll

    Would try in Nanjing.

    --
    --Jim (me)
    1. Re:Just a little more towards the west, please! by Balthisar · · Score: 2

      Why "troll"? I live in Nanjing. It's west of the cities mentioned in the article, and in the same province as many of them. I have a Chinese driver's license.

      I'll reiterate: "Would try in Nanjing."

      --
      --Jim (me)
  4. Re:Taxi cab companies are fighting the wrong opone by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

    People have been predicting for years that self-driving cars will cause car ownership to plummet, as renting a car becomes cheaper than owning one. But that is not what Foxconn is doing. They are just renting normal electric cars. You still have to drive them. This doesn't really compete with taxis. It just competes with gas powered rental cars. It isn't even news, since they have been renting electric cars for a few years already. They are just expanding to some additional cities.

  5. Most people would benefit? by Trachman · · Score: 2

    People might benefit from Lithium. Lithium is used to treat bipolar disorder, depression and it acts by increasing serotonin synthesis. The effect would be somewhat similiar to that one of Prozac, which is fluoride based medication.

    The Problem is that In US there are already significant amounts of flourides added to the drinking water and effect similar to that of the Lithium is achieved, thus it is not quite clear how two medications can improve health.

    Fluorides can also improve hardness of the population teeth, too.

    1. Re:Most people would benefit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hold my beer. I'll go lick my phone's battery to get me some lithium.

  6. Uber is Silk Road for Taxis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Face it, Uber is like Silk Road. Taxis are subject to laws and licenses, and Uber tries to bypass all that.

    It's a website designed to permit systematic criminal transactions.

  7. Re:Soon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Hey idiot, there are not only more electric cars in California than in all of China, but, China's electricity is 80% coal, AND CLIMBING. As such, electric cars there is MUCH WORSE than gas esp. since China does not enforce pollution control on coal plants.

    In America, the ONLY emission that we have of any real amount is CO2. The CO2 is below 14% and should be below 10% by the time that Obama leaves office.
    And nearly all of our pollution is lower than what Europe as a whole does.

  8. The only problem... by digsbo · · Score: 0

    ...is you have to work a 140 hour week assembling it first.

    1. Re:The only problem... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...is you have to work a 140 hour week assembling it first.

      And why are they doing this? Don't Foxconn employees live in barracks right in the factory complex? Eat food from the company cafeterias?

      What do they need to drive places for?

  9. Treadmills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe they can promote good employee health by having them run or pedal while they work.
    Sure it's not really a substitute for humane work conditions/hours and a proper living wage, but at least they're making sure you exercise.

    Or was this already how their charging stations run?

  10. electric chair rentals by deodiaus2 · · Score: 0

    I miss read the title.

  11. Haters gonna hate, but open your eyes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While the Chinese are overtaking the West on knowledge and even sustainability, we're just gonna keep mocking their problems with pollution and poor workers' rights. It's one thing if your competition overtakes you by surprise, but I get the feeling we're having our eyes wide open, and yet refuse to see what is clearly there.

  12. Which is better? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bio friendly cars or bio friendly suicide nets in worker's dorms?

    [It just works]

  13. misread title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Managed to misread the title as "Foxcoon Offers Electric Chair Rental Service in China". That wouldn't surprise me either.