LORDSTOWN — Global consumer electronics manufacturer Foxconn plans to build electric-vehicle batteries at its factories here in Ohio and in Wisconsin, according to a published report after the company’s investor meeting this week.

Major Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asia reported Foxconn, which acquired the former General Motors small-car assembly plant in Lordstown in May 2022 from Lordstown Motors Corp., plans the move as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act “spurs demand for local production.”

“We will build capacity for battery cells and battery packages for energy storage systems in Wisconsin, while we will also build capacity for battery packages for whole cars in our Ohio facility,” Foxconn Chairman Young Liu told an investors’ conference Wednesday, according to the publication.

The act signed into law Aug. 16 by President Joe Biden provides tax rebates to consumers to buy electric vehicles, but not all EVs will fully qualify for the credit under a requirement that calls for component parts to be made and assembled in the U.S.

“The timing for the IRA introduction is very good for us. We saw the opportunities in developing battery-related capacity. The U.S. government is also very supportive,” Liu said, according to the publication.

Nikkei Asia also reported Foxconn’s rivals — such as Pegatron, Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics, and Delta Electronics — also plan to increase their EV-related capacity in North America this year.

Foxconn purchased the 6.2 million-square-foot facility for $230 million, and has been working to transform the factories capabilities since.

Foxconn already has contract manufacturing agreements in place with Lordstown Motors to produce its battery-powered truck, the Endurance, and with California-based Monarch Tractor’s line of autonomous farm tractors.

It also has an agreement with INDIEV to make the prototype versions of INDIEV’s Indi One, billed by the California company as the first-ever vehicle with a vehicle-integrated computer capable of high-end gaming and learning the driver’s habits.

Also, the chairman of Fisker Inc., Henrik Fisker, said in May he plans to have his company’s second EV, the PEAR, made in Lordstown. Foxconn and Fisker, however, do not have a formal contract manufacturing agreement in place.