Apple electric cars hit bump in the road as talks with Chinese stall

APPLE’S dreams of building an electric car have veered off course as talks with its battery suppliers threaten to fall apart.

The Silicon Valley company, which has spent years developing automotive technology, has run into problems over securing batteries for its electric vehicles. Apple has been attempting to encourage Chinese battery makers CATL, the world’s number one supplier of EV batteries, and BYD to set up production facilities in the US, but so far these talks have not progressed, Reuters reported.

Joe Biden, the US President, has ambitions to make the country a powerhouse in electric cars and wants half of all new vehicles to be electric by 2030. However, the targets risk being thwarted as the country battles supply chain chaos that has caused widespread delays in the delivery of goods.

The battery makers working with Apple are said to be struggling to find staff and expertise, and were not willing to build factories in the US that would cater solely to supplying Apple.

Apple had hoped to secure a domestic supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries from one of the companies.

CATL said it was “evaluating the opportunity and possibility” of manufacturing in the US. Panasonic, the Japanese technology company, is also said to be among the frontrunners to develop Apple’s electric batteries.

It is the latest setback for Apple’s car project. Reuters reported earlier this year that Apple’s plans had accelerated, with a view to launching an Apple car in 2024 or 2025. However, the project has suffered several bumps in the road. In September, it was reported that Doug Field, the head of the project, had been snapped up by Ford.

In 2019, Apple laid off 190 employees understood to be working on its selfdriving car programme.

Talks with carmakers have also come to nothing. Preliminary discussions between Apple and Nissan collapsed in February after the tech firm reportedly demanded Apple-branded vehicles, effectively downgrading Nissan’s role to a hardware supplier.

Meanwhile, Tesla shares hit a new record high yesterday, leaving the company worth almost $900bn – close to Facebook’s $917bn valuation.

Separately, Renault said it would make half a million fewer cars this year, due to the global shortage of microchips used in vehicles’ electrical systems.