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Apple Electric Car (Notizie)


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Who will build the Apple car? Here are the candidates to watch

Apple's car plans could involve several potential manufacturing partners capable of building an electric self-driving vehicle for the technology giant.

The secret project has gained momentum in recent months, adding multiple former Tesla executives, gaining the supervision of Apple's top artificial intelligence executive and ramping up road tests. The initiative, known as Project Titan inside Apple, is attracting intense interest because of its potential to upend the automotive industry and supply chains, much like the iPhone did to the smartphone market.

If and when Apple commits to building a car, it is likely to seek multiple partners -- including a major one to build the vehicle and many others to supply key components. The following companies -- whose representatives declined to comment -- are possible candidates:

Foxconn

Foxconn Technology Group already has a close relationship with Apple. For well over a decade, it has been the U.S. company's largest production partner, assembling the majority of the world's iPhones and a big chunk of its Macs and iPads from vast complexes employing upwards of a million people across China.

In October, Foxconn, whose main listed arm is Hon Hai Precision Industry, unveiled its first electric-vehicle chassis and a software platform to help automakers bring models to market faster. It also plans to release a solid-state battery by 2024.

The Taiwanese company, founded by billionaire Terry Gou, announced a plan in early 2020 to form a joint venture with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to develop and make electric vehicles in China, though Foxconn will not be involved in any assembly itself.
In January, Foxconn signed a manufacturing deal with Chinese EV startup Byton with the goal of starting mass production of its full-electric M-Byte SUV model by the first quarter of 2022.
It also announced another venture with China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to provide production and consulting services.

Magna International

Canada's Magna is the third-largest supplier in the world by sales and has a contract-manufacturing operation with years of experience making entire car models for a variety of brands.

Magna produces everything from chassis and car seats to sensors and software for driver-assistance features.

Automakers including BMW and Jaguar Land Rover have hired its Magna Steyr unit and outsourced production to its factory in Graz, Austria.

Magna also pitches its engineering and manufacturing services to EV startups. Last fall, it agreed to provide Fisker with an EV platform for its Ocean SUV and added self-driving features to the deal in January.

In December, Magna put about $450 million into a joint venture with Korea's LG Electronics to make EV powertrains. It's also expanding its manufacturing footprint in China, the largest EV market, by building the ArcFox Alpha-T for Beijing Automotive Group -- the first vehicle it has assembled outside of Europe.

Magna has also has the benefit of a prior relationship with Apple: the two were in talks to build Apple's car when the iPhone maker first set out on this path about five years ago.

Hyundai or Kia

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors have drawn the most attention so far this year, thanks in part to Hyundai initially confirming reports in Korea last month that it was in discussions with Apple. But the automaker quickly walked that back and recently repeated that it was not in talks.

Hyundai and Kia both have plants in the U.S., in Alabama and Georgia. Their dedicated EV platform will deliver driving range of over 500 kilometers (311 miles) and be capable of recharging car batteries up to 80 percent in 18 minutes.

While the two sell EVs derived from existing models, they will start selling vehicles based on the dedicated EV platform from March, helping to bring down costs and improve performance efficiency.

They plan to introduce a combined 23 new EV models and sell 1 million units globally by 2025.

The big disadvantage Hyundai and Kia have is the recent back-and-forth on whether they are developing a car for Apple, a notoriously secretive company. Although the two automakers have said talks are not happening, it's possible discussions could restart if Apple deems them the best possible partners.

Nissan/Renault

Although it's seen as a long shot, Nissan brings several elements to the table that could be beneficial for Apple. Nissan already has a common EV platform developed with French partner Renault, which will be used for its Ariya compact SUV debuting later this year.

When asked whether the Japanese company would be willing to build cars for Apple, CEO Makoto Uchida said during an earnings news conference that Nissan "has the DNA to do things others won't do."

The automaker has been mired in a slump, reporting its biggest loss in two decades in fiscal 2019, and could get much-needed revenue from helping Apple develop or manufacture its vehicle. It also could benefit from access to Apple's technology.

After pursuing a strategy of volume at any cost that ate into profit, Nissan needs to attract higher-paying customers largely with the technology inside of its cars.

JPMorgan speculated that Renault could be a good partner for Apple because of its experience in contract manufacturing and industrial collaboration. An Apple tie-up could also reduce Renault's excess capacity in Europe, the investment bank said.

Stellantis

One factor in determining the suitability of a partner for Apple may be availability of production capacity. This could point to automakers such as Stellantis, whose Fiat and PSA Group operations in Europe have been hit by the region's sales slump and has spare room in some plants.

Stellantis is under pressure to find synergies after forming last month through the merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

CEO Carlos Tavares said during a Jan. 19 press conference that Stellantis is open to working with Apple or any tech company on EVs, "as long as it doesn't create any technology dependence" that would jeopardize the automaker's future.

Chairman John Elkann said in 2016 that the auto industry should work with "new industry participants" like Google and Apple rather than try to compete with them.

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  • 2 mesi fa...
57 minuti fa, j scrive:

Sfumato l'accordo con Hyundai la Apple sembrerebbe sul punto di firmare una JV con LG e Magna per la produzione della propria automobile stando a fonti coreane

 

https://insideevs.it/news/500732/apple-car-accordo-lg-magna/


Ha sicuramente più senso che produrre delle Hyundai con marchio diverso… 

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  • 1 mese fa...

Apple hires former BMW executive for its rebooted car project

The technology giant hired Ulrich Kranz in recent weeks, about a month after he stepped down as CEO of Canoo

 

Apple has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive at BMW's electric car division, to help lead its own vehicle efforts.

The technology giant hired Kranz in recent weeks, about a month after he stepped down as CEO of Canoo, a developer of self-driving electric vehicles. Before co-founding Canoo, Kranz was senior vice president of the group that developed the i3 and i8 cars at BMW, where he worked for 30 years.

Kranz is one of Apple’s most significant automotive hires, a clear sign that the iPhone maker is determined to build a self-driving electric car to rival Tesla and other carmakers.

Kranz will report to Doug Field, who led development of Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 and now runs Apple’s car project, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter.

Apple has become the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of more than $2 trillion, by selling iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macs and services. With investors and customers clamoring for new products, the company has targeted cars and augmented-reality headsets. An Apple spokesperson confirmed Kranz’s hiring.

Apple began developing a vehicle in 2014 but shelved the effort around 2016 to focus on an autonomous platform it could sell to other companies or eventually use itself. Along the way, Apple poached several Tesla executives, who now help head up drive-train engineering, self-driving software and interiors and exteriors.

Last year, Apple gave oversight of the operation to John Giannandrea, senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence and Field’s boss. Several months ago, Apple rebooted its efforts to develop a full-fledged electric car, but development remains in the early stages, so a launch is likely at least five years away.

Before hiring Kranz, Apple lost some key auto executives. Benjamin Lyon, Jaime Waydo and Dave Scott, who worked on engineering, safety systems and robotics, respectively, all departed in recent months. It’s unclear why the three left.

Following successful stints at BMW’s Mini division and teams working on sports cars and SUVs, Kranz was asked to run Project I, a battery-powered vehicle skunkworks started in 2008. It yielded the all-electric i3 compact and the plug-in hybrid i8 sports car. The former was panned by design critics, and production was very limited on the latter.

Kranz left BMW in 2016 and soon became chief technology officer at Faraday Future, an electric vehicle startup based in Los Angeles. He stayed only three months, before co-founding Canoo. Both firms have struggled with their technology and ability to produce vehicles, while Canoo reportedly discussed selling itself to Apple and other companies.

Canoo went public in December after a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, called Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. Canoo last month said it was being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, becoming the third clean-energy auto startup to disclose a federal probe in the past year. Canoo plans to debut a minivan for less than $35,000 next year.

Apple has worked with BMW for many years, integrating the iPod with auto infotainment systems back in 2004 and more recently making the iPhone double as a car key. Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted checking out a BMW i8 outside Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters in 2014, and company executives have been known to visit BMW offices in recent years.

 

(Bloomberg)

 

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  • 2 mesi fa...

Per me Apple, farà costruire la sua auto o da BMW (un marchio rimasto solo e soprattutto non cinese) o Tesla (per lo stile minimal e filosofia molto simile), c'era qualche possibilità remota tempo fa con VAG, ma sembra che i rapporti si siano un pò raffreddati, ma mai dire mai!

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