The Apple Car project is making rapid progress behind the scenes
Apple remains largely silent about the electric vehicle effort, but the Apple Car project appears to be making rapid progress behind the scenes.
After rumors of manufacturing deals with Hyundai and Kia, a report by the Korea Times stated that the iPhone manufacturer had found a new target for making the first prototype car as early as 2024.
Apple is close to signing a deal to build early prototypes of the electric vehicle with LG Magna e-Powertrain.
According to the report, the joint car project between South Korean LG and Canadian car supplier Magna, dubbed LG Magna e-Powertrain, is supposed to produce prototypes of the Apple Car project.
LG Magna e-Powertrain is close to signing contracts with Apple under which it could handle the initial production volume of the car.
The volume of production the joint venture could handle would not be large, as Apple mostly intends to use the first generation EVs as an opportunity to assess their marketability.
And given that LG Group companies including LG Display, LG Chem, LG Energy Solution, and LG Innotek are included in Apple's parts supply chain, you don't need to worry about any supply chain issues.
The subsidiaries of the LG Group are eligible to guarantee production returns and faster delivery of parts needed for Apple Car cars.
After officially abandoning its mobile phone business, LG is trying to respond urgently to the growing investor demands for results from the auto component business.
LG's exit from the smartphone sector could boost its profit margins, and the money saved could be invested in auto component businesses.
Given that the LG brand is not that strong in the global electric vehicle industry, it needs a competitive reference to demonstrate transformation efforts.
Accordingly, LG’s bet on Apple is beneficial to it, and vice versa for Apple, and the monetary size of the partnership will not be huge.
Once the deal is sealed, the two parties jointly lay out the relevant details for the production of the car, with a prototype to be shown sometime in early 2024.
LG Magna e-Powertrain is valued at $ 1 billion and is earmarked to manufacture electronic motors, inverters, and compact chargers.
LG owns 51 percent of the new company, and the deal is expected to end in July, with Apple being acquired as a major customer.
In the past, LG supplied engines, battery packs, and other components to companies such as Tesla, General Motors, Ford, and BMW.
Apple has been working on autonomous driving technology under the codename Project Titan since 2015, and work on designing the car was reportedly paused in 2017 with the division focusing on core autonomous technology.
Several signs indicate that Apple has restarted work on the car, and Tim Cook recently said: Apple is interested in standardizing hardware, software, and services when it comes to electric vehicles, which means in a big way that it is still working on the car.