Electronic equipment maker Foxconn has signed a contract to produce electric tractors for a California-based startup,media reported. Foxconn will make electric tractors for Livermore, California-based Monarch Tractor, the companies announced on Aug. 9.

Foxconn will manufacture Monarch's electric tractors at the former General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Foxconn bought the factory in May from struggling electric pickup start-up Lordstown for $230 million.

Monarch expects to start production of the electric tractor in the first quarter of 2023. "Building the industry's most advanced tractors requires a manufacturing partner with experience in rapid scaling and precise execution," CEO Praveen Penmetsa said in a statement.

Foxconn's partnership with Monarch deepens the company's goal of entering the electric vehicle market. Foxconn sees the deal as a new step into its entry into advanced technology and foundry production of electric vehicles, which it has previously made for consumer electronics. "This partnership reflects Foxconn's growing focus on autonomous driving and electric vehicle production, as well as the potential that a forward-looking partnership can generate," said Liu Yangwei, the company's chairman.

>The cooperation with Foxconn is one of several recent initiatives by Monarch. In July, the company set up an office in India and partnered with Indian artificial intelligence startup Einsite to tap into the country’s agricultural market.