Faraday Future Teases Second EV

Struggling electric vehicle startup Faraday Future Inc. has unveiled a sketch (pictured) of a small electric crossover vehicle it plans to launch sometime after this year.

The new model, tentatively called the FF81 (pictured), has a more angular look than the larger FF91 crossover the company intends to introduce by the end of 2018. Faraday provided no technical details about the smaller vehicle or indicate when it will launch.

Manufacturing boss Dag Reckhorn told suppliers last week that Faraday’s launch schedule for the 1,000-hp supercar is an “aggressive, yet workable timeline.” Faraday unveiled the stylish FF91 a year ago at the CES electronics show in Las Vegas.

Reckhorn says Faraday is on schedule with its plan to convert a former tire-making plant in Hanford, Calif., into a vehicle assembly facility to build both models. Last summer the California-based company abandoned plans for a $1 billion plant in Nevada due to financial problems.

Faraday, which has been teetering on the verge of bankruptcy for the past year, claims to have secured $1.5 billion in funding from an anonymous Hong Kong-based backer. The company has received about one-third of the money. The balance is contingent on meeting future performance metrics, according to media reports.

Billionaire Jia Yueting continues to lead Faraday after being ousted last May as the head of China’s Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. At the time, he acknowledged that the company was running out of cash because of his aggressive, multifaceted expansion plan.