FF91 image via Faraday Future

If you’ve followed news reports about electric car startup Faraday Future (FF), you’ve probably only heard about the company’s challenges.

That’s according to its new global CEO Carsten Breitfeld in a recent interview posted online.

But the former BMW and Chinese electric car executive is looking to change that, disclosing in an interview posted last week on YouTube that he expects mass production of FF’s first all-electric car, the FF 91, to begin next year — though he wouldn’t comment on what month that may happen.

Initially, company officials had predicted full production at FF’s Hanford plant to begin late last year or early this year, but that timeline didn’t happen, as the would-be carmaker encountered mounting financial problems and had to seek new investors.

The money woes also put a stop to renovating a million-square-foot former Pirelli tire plant in south Hanford into FF’s first electric car manufacturing plant.

In the interview with Bloomberg Technology posted on Yahoo.com, Breitfeld said he believed the plant renovations may be finished within 12 months, indicating FF 91 production might not occur until late 2020 at the soonest.

Still, any word the car company is moving forward is welcome to its current employees and hundreds of former employees laid off starting last year.

When asked how many employees had been let go and to discuss their futures, Breitfeld seemed to brush the questions aside, instead saying that the hiring issues might be a blessing, in that the people who remain with FF are the workers most excited and buying into the company’s plans.

Weeks before the layoffs, FF announced it had hired at least 1,000 employees, and Breitfeld said currently the company has about 600 in Hanford, its headquarters in Gardena, Los Angeles and China.

He said more people would need to be hired as the cars get closer to production, but he didn’t say when or how many might be needed in Hanford.

“FF 91 is very close to final production and delivery. Ninety-two percent of the parts have been sourced. Moreover, we still have nearly 600 employees globally from various industries working together for the goal of delivering FF 91.  I am very confident that under this new plan, we will deliver FF 91 in a shorter time at a lower cost and higher quality,” Breitfeld said in a press release.

During his Bloomberg interview, Breitfeld also disclosed the sale price of the FF 91, about $150,000. That’s less than half of the $300,000-plus price tag some auto industry experts predicted.

In comparison, CarandDriver.com puts the estimated price for Teslas — with which FF intends to compete in the electric car market — in the $86,100 range.

Breitfeld said FF’s luxury, high-tech sports utility vehicle will be built and marketed for “people who are really passionate about technology and want the best you can get.”

Some time after the FF 91 gets off the ground, Breitfeld said the plan is to start production on the FF 81, a smaller version of the 91 with fewer bells and whistles and a lower price tag.

Besides building cars in Hanford, FF has partnered with a Chinese app maker to construct another car plant in China and build a third, even more affordable car for the Chinese auto market, which Breitfeld predicted is at least two-and-and-a-half years away from mass production.

But before all that happens, Faraday still needs investors after breaking ties with its previous Chinese investor that had promised to commit $2 billion to the struggling carmaker.

Company officials reportedly announced last week during a gathering of its remaining employees that they will make an initial public offering of FF stock within 12-15 months after obtaining equity financing.

Breitfeld said his predecessor as CEO, the financially troubled billionaire and FF founder Jia Yueting, is making some of his shares in FF available to other executives and outside investors, and plans are for the company to be lead by an investors committee instead of by one person.

“The projected funding needs for this stage have been significantly reduced to $850 million from the original estimate of $2 billion,” a press release issued after the event states.

As for where FF stands in getting investors, other news agencies have reported that Breitfeld stepping in as CEO is helping draw interest, but he told Bloomberg that investors are getting wary about putting their money into auto startups because “the whole investment community understands it’s more difficult than they thought before. It’s a lot of money — kind of heavy investment to establish [the business] and time to [receive] returns.”

But Breitfeld said many in the auto industry agree that the driving forces in the industry will be merging transportation with “digital ecosystems,” and he believes FF is in the best position to lead those innovations, becoming a disruptor in the auto industry as it stands now.