Faraday Future to unveil production car at CES 2017

Faraday Future to unveil production car at CES 2017

Faraday Future will unveil its first production car in January at the CES 2017 technology trade show in Las Vegas.

The unveiling comes a year after the Chinese-backed, California-based electric car startup unveiled the FFZERO1 concept, a futuristic-looking, 1,000-horsepower electric race car, at the show.

 “This first product will be a premium electric vehicle that combines extreme technology, industry leading range, and holistic design,” said Faraday Future spokesman Richard Otto in an email Thursday to The Detroit News.

Confirmation of the unveiling came a day after the company posted on Twitter that it would “unveil the future” with the hashtag #CES2017. The tweet included a four-bulletin timeline of Faraday Future that also included founding the company, creating the concept and joining Formula E racing.

Otto declined to comment on the name of the car, production timeline and other details, citing “more details on our launch event and vehicle to come in the run-up to the show.”

At the time of the FFZERO1 concept unveiling, Nick Sampson, Faraday’s senior vice president of research and product development, said the automaker was working to bring a production car to market within a few years.

The company broke ground on a $1 billion, 3-million-square-foot factory in Nevada in April. Officials there said the goal was to complete a four-year build process in half the time, but an exact opening date was not given.

Chinese billionaire Ding Lei, co-founder of leTV, the Chinese company that financially backs Faraday, has said the company doesn’t just want to create a vehicle, it wants to build an internet infrastructure and ecosystem to connect everything together.

Faraday is expected to be a rival to fellow California-based electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors Inc., which currently produces two all-electric, high-end vehicles and is expected to release a mainstream sedan in late-2017.

This year’s CES will run Jan. 5-8. CES has increasingly focused on automotive technology, including self-driving car systems. The show has become an increasingly popular place for automotive executives to attend to show off their newest technologies and vehicles.

Last year, General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra was the event’s keynote speaker, and GM unveiled its highly anticipated Chevrolet Bolt EV at the show.

Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn and Ford Motor Co. CEO Mark Fields will deliver keynote speeches at the 2017 CES technology trade show in Las Vegas.

Ghosn will speak during the show’s opening day, Jan. 5, while Fields will deliver a speech at the Leaders in Technology dinner on Jan. 6, show officials announced Thursday. Fields last delivered a keynote presentation at the show in 2015, while Nissan has never attended the event.