Apple Talks With Chinese Battery Manufacturers For Apple Car Mostly Failed

The fact that Apple is passing high-quality standards on to its partners is nothing new. Now a report says that the terms of the contract, which Apple specifies, have resulted in negotiations for battery production for the Apple car has failed so far.

A report by Reuters news refers to people who are familiar with the negotiations. Accordingly, Apple’s attempt to commission two battery manufacturers to build systems that are intended exclusively for the Apple Car has failed. Apple insists on exclusivity, meaning that a factory only produces batteries for an Apple car and not for other brands. According to reports, two out of three potential Apple car suppliers are struggling to meet Apple’s production requirements. The contract manufacturers, with whom the iPhone giant has so far negotiated about production, are said to be unwilling to do so or have had too high counterclaims themselves.

Companies reluctant in exclusivity

The main problem is said to be with the manufacture of advanced lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) batteries in the United States for Apple and the effort it would take to get it exclusivity.

The suppliers named by Reuters are BYD and CATL. CATL is the world’s largest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles. CATL is a Chinese company, which has now complicated matters because of the political problems between the US and China. CATL had already tried to find suitable employees for the Apple project in the USA but had already failed. A representative from CATL confirmed to Reuters that the company is “evaluating the opportunity and possibility of production location in North America.” However, they did not want to publish details on this.

BYD, on the other hand, already has a plant in the US and seems to be the better choice for Apple. However, the company reportedly said it would not operate a plant exclusively for the Apple Car. The Reuters report claims that BYD and CATL’s cancellations came within the past two months. Since then, further negotiations have stalled and Apple has brought a third partner on board.