Ex-GM EV1 chief engineer hired as Faraday Future’s new powertrain boss

Electric car company Faraday Future has hired ex-General Motors electric propulsion boss Peter Savagian to lead powertrain development of its first production model.

The Chinese-owned, US-based company is set to launch an all-electric supercar in 2018. This latest recruitment comes just one month after it announced a partnership with Formula E's Dragon Racing team.

Savagian announced his move on LinkedIn, where he lists himself as Faraday Future's vice president for engineering and says he will "lead engineering operations for powertrain, battery and related high voltage systems". Savagian brings with him more than 14 years of experience at the helm of GM's electric division; he headed GM's EV1 programme back in the 1990s to create the world's first mass-produced electric car.

It's not yet clear whether Savagian's role will see him work directly with Dragon Racing, but both companies have emphasised that technical information will be shared to speed up development of electric powertrain technology.

Faraday Future confirmed that developments made on track will influence its electric supercar, suggesting Savagian's team will have at least some involvement with the Formula E team's work.

Dragon Racing and Faraday Future are also collaborating with LeEco, a Chinese online entertainment firm, which will share its expertise in intelligent connected technology.

Like Faraday Future, LeEco says it wants to transform the car from a transportation method to important tool in all ways of life.

Faraday Future confirmed its intentions to bring an electric car to market by revealing a concept at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA.

That car was a single-seat all-electric racer built on a bespoke, modular electric platform, dubbed the Variable Platform Architecture (VPA). VPA will underpin all of Faraday Future’s future vehicles, and can be adapted to work in both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive models.

Source: Autocar UK