 |
| Apple's negotiations with CATL and BYD have ended |
According to Reuters, most of Apple's negotiations with CATL and China's BYD over the delivery of the proposed electric car batteries have stalled because the two companies refused to cooperate in building a US plant that would respond only to the tech giant's needs.
These companies told Apple they could not meet their needs. But the American company did not lose hope to resume negotiations with CATL or BYD.
Chinese battery manufacturers are more advanced than their competitors in developing LFP batteries with lower production costs, and Apple favors this battery technology.
Because of political tensions and cost concerns between Washington and Beijing, Ningde Times, the world's largest electric car battery maker, has been reluctant to build a plant in the United States.
The Chinese company also found it impossible to create a separate product development team to work exclusively with Apple because it was difficult to find enough employees.
BYD has a lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Lancaster, California, but is refusing to build a new plant and team and is focusing on serving only iPhone manufacturers.
The deadlocked discussion means that Apple plans to cooperate with Japanese battery manufacturers. He sent a group of people to Japan this month. Panasonic is one of the companies that this American company is considering.
In a statement to Reuters, Cattell denied the relevant information. “We are evaluating the capabilities and capabilities of local manufacturing in North America,” the statement reads, adding that there is a professional team in place to take care of each customer.
Sources told Reuters last year that Apple's goal is to bring electric cars to market by 2024. The company has not announced its plans publicly.
The Apple Cars project faces successive hurdles
When the discussion subsided, the administration of US President Joe Biden wanted to make the United States a strong electric vehicle hub. The goal is for electric vehicles to account for half of all new car sales by 2030.
Any delay in battery delivery could hamper the company's electric vehicle development. After deciding to return to Ford last month, I lost Dogfield, head of the automotive project.
In addition, Tesla said this week that it intends to use battery chemistry outside of China as well. The company uses LFP batteries from the Ningde era to manufacture Model 3 and Y in China.
CATL and BYD use some type of battery pack technology to improve the performance of LFP batteries. Without them, LFP batteries typically offer shorter run times and lower energy density than more expensive lithium batteries that use cobalt and nickel.