Will this design-for-manufacturing expert consultancy put Faraday on the road?

By Gary S. Vasilash

Sandy Munro, of Munro & Associates, has long been known in the Detroit area for his always relevant and sometimes strident analyses of motor vehicles. For the past few years Munro has become more widely known (and as much of a YouTube star as someone who does things like assess manufacturability and cost reduction opportunities can be) for his work on electric vehicles. He has become an expert on the ways and means Tesla produces its vehicles, which has resulted in Munro being a go-to for those who want to do a better job of execution.

But at the end of the day, he and his team are suppliers. And rarely do vehicle manufacturers talk about their suppliers.

After all, OEMs know everything. . .don’t they?

So it comes of a bit of a surprise that Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc., which revealed the FF 91 at the 2017 CES to much attention and levels of acclaim, has announced that it has engaged with the consulting firm.

Carsten Breitfeld, CEO of Faraday Future Global (yes, a different name than the aforementioned but part of the same outfit), announced, “We are excited to work with Munro & Associates, who has a tremendous amount of experience in the electric vehicle space and has a highly respected reputation within the industry.

“We are grateful to be on the right track in our production of the FF 91 Futurist and to have the support and opportunity to co-create our products and technologies with this esteemed firm.”

(Yes, the “FF 91” is now the “FF 91 Futurist.”)

Clearly Munro has gained significant traction in this space.

And the FF 91 Whatever-it-will-be-called-when-it-hits-production will be the better for that profound knowledge that Munro & Associates will bring.