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Apple Disclosed Apple Car Plans to a Parts Manufacturer, Talks Ended Abruptly

While Apple has so far remained completely tight-lipped on the electric vehicle it’s working on, people familiar with the matter claim the development of the Apple Car is making good progress behind closed doors.
Apple Car rendering 10 photos
Photo: Vanarama
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In fact, there’s a chance the Apple Car development might be in a much more advanced stage than we originally believed, as a new report reveals that Apple reached out to a parts manufacturer over a potential supply deal back in 2020.

As part of the discussions, Apple even shared a series of Apple Car schematics, though the talks eventually ended abruptly due to struggles caused by the global health issue.

The parts manufacturer in question is the Japanese company Sanden. Known as one of the largest manufacturers of air conditioning components for vehicles, Sanden was supposed to be the company also supplying climate control systems for the Apple Car.

But shortly after Apple reached out to Sanden to discuss a potential supply deal, the Japanese firm ended up struggling with its financial resources, especially as its production got hit hard by the restrictions caused by the global health crisis.

As a result, Sanden’s only option was debt restructuring, at which point Apple just decided to walk away and look elsewhere for a company to supply its air conditioning parts.

This isn’t the first time Apple’s discussions for the Apple Car fail to reach a conclusion. In early 2021, Apple reached out to Hyundai, this time to talk about a potential manufacturing deal for its electric vehicle.

The discussion made good progress and eventually reached the phase where Hyundai and Apple even picked the plant where the Apple Car was supposed to come to be. However, the South Korean carmaker spilled the beans on the talks, and Apple’s big honchos considered such a thing unacceptable, especially as the Apple Car is labeled as a high-priority product for the company.

Apple, therefore, decided to drop the talks, so right now, a joint venture between LG and Magna is believed to be in pole-position to manufacture the EV.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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