EV firm Faraday Future drops after flagging need for funding

Electric Last Mile Solutions

26/07/2022 11:57

July 26 (Reuters) - Faraday Future Intelligent Electric
Inc's  FFIE.O  shares fell more than 7% in premarket trading on
Tuesday after the electric-vehicle maker flagged the need for
more cash to launch its FF91 luxury model. 
    The company is in talks to raise more than $200 million to
fund production activities until year-end and beyond, it said in
a regulatory filing on Monday. 
    The comments mark a reversal from Chief Executive Carsten
Breitfeld's statement just last month that Faraday Future would
be able to launch its flagship model without additional funding.
    EV startups that promised to disrupt the automotive industry
by using a software- and technology-heavy approach are now
scrambling to cut costs and secure fresh lines of cash. 
    The dearth of funding forced Electric Last Mile Solutions
 ELMS.O , an electric delivery van startup, to file for Chapter
7 bankruptcy protection in June.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Y13I5
    Faraday Future said first U.S. deliveries of FF91 could also
get delayed to the fourth quarter because of supply chain
issues. The vehicle, seen by the company as a rival to
Volkswagen Group's  VOWG_p.DE  Bentley and Mercedes Benz's
 MBGn.DE  Maybach, was earlier expected the launch in the third
quarter. 
    Faraday Future is one of the many EV startups that went
public through blank-check mergers, a market that has slowed
this year due regulatory scrutiny and the poor share performance
of companies that listed via that route. 
    Shares of Los Angeles, California-based Faraday Future have
declined about 57% so far this year.
    

 (Reporting by Chavi Mehta and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru;
Editing by Aditya Soni)
 ((Chavi.Mehta@thomsonreuters.com;))