Apple works with world- class Chinese electric car battery producer: report

US technology giant Apple Inc is reportedly tapping into the electric car market by teaming up with a Chinese car battery manufacturer, domestic financial news site yicai. com reported on Thursday.

Apple is working with Contemporary Amperex Technology ( CAT), a leading lithium- ion automotive battery manufacturer based in Ningde, East China’s Fujian Province, which is a representative of China’s power battery manufacturers, according to the report.

CAT ranks among the world’s top three lithiumion automotive battery producers, with capacity to produce 6.8 gigawatt hours installed capacity of batteries in 2016, according to a statement the company sent to the Global Times in April.

In the first half of 2017, CAT’s electric battery storage capacity reached 1.31 gigawatt hours, accounting for 21 percent of the domestic market, yicai. com noted.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earlier interview with Bloomberg that the Chinese company has been working on an Apple car, which combines three factors – autonomous driving, electric vehicle technology and ride- sharing – media reported in June.

The company is more focused on autonomous driving, according to Cook.

CAT is good at producing power batteries, which are important components for autonomous driving vehicles, said the report.