Apple is "very near" to signing an agreement with LG and Magna to build its long-rumored electric vehicle, according to The Korea Times.
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LG Electronics has publicly undertaken a joint venture with the Canada-based automotive supplier Magna International, in a collaboration preliminarily titled "LG Magna e-Powertrain."
LG Magna e-Powertrain is currently valued at $1 billion and will manufacture electric motors, inverters and onboard chargers, following approval from LG shareholders. LG has previously supplied motors, battery packs, and other components for General Motors' Bolt EV and to Tesla, while Magna already produces automotive electronics.
Sources familiar with the matter, speaking to The Korea Times, said "LG Magna e-Powertrain is very near to signing contracts with Apple under which they could handle the initial volume production of Apple EVs. Contract details are still being discussed."
Although the joint venture lacks the production volume to manufacture a vehicle on a mass-scale comparable to other major automakers, Apple is apparently comfortable with LG Magna e-Powertrain's smaller capacity, from which it may be inferred that the company does not intend to produce the vehicle on the same large scale as other major automakers.
Apple's first-generation of electric vehicles is reportedly seen as an opportunity to evaluate the project's marketability, rather than a true mass-market vehicle, rendering it a more niche brand within the industry, at least initially. This is seemingly supported by Apple's ease with LG Magna e-Powertrain's smaller manufacturing capacity.
LG is already heavily integrated into Apple's supply chain for crucial products such as the iPhone, so the two companies are already very familiar with working with each other for production purposes and have an intertwined supply operation.
Because LG Group affiliates including LG Display, LG Chem, LG Energy Solution and LG Innotek are already included in Apple's parts supply chain, Apple doesn't have to worry about any supply chain issues. These LG affiliates are qualified to guarantee production yields and faster delivery of parts needed for Apple EVs.
Following LG's decision to shut down its unprofitable smartphone business, the company is said to be urgently responding to investors' growing calls to produce results from its vehicle components business. LG's exit from the smartphone industry is expected to boost its margins and it could re-invest the salvaged funds into its vehicle component businesses.
As the LG brand is not that strong in the global EV industry, it needs a pretty competitive reference to show off its transformation efforts. From that standpoint, LG's bet on the Apple EV is not that bad, and vice versa for Apple.
The monetary value of the partnership would purportedly not be significant for LG, but would rather yield benefits in establishing the reputation of LG Magna e-Powertrain as a contract auto manufacturer and vindicating the formation of LG Magna e-Powertrain.
Magna is based in Canada, but has previously said that it would be able to manufacture vehicles at a facility in the United States if contracted to do so, which may be a provision Apple is looking to include in its proposed agreement.
If the agreement is reached, the two parties will then jointly establish the precise details for the production of the Apple car, and a prototype will apparently be teased in early 2024.
Magna has been floated as a potential contractor for Apple's vehicle in the past, but this appears to be the most well-reasoned rumor surrounding a contract manufacturer for the project to date.
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* When you turn the car on it'll make a really loud chime guaranteed to wake up the entire household at night.
* The windscreen will have a big notch right at eye level - it does reduce visibility a little, however you will be able to take selfies and FaceTime while driving!
* In a revolutionary departure, there won't be a steering wheel or accelerator pedal, instead you'll interact with an intuitive iPad-like touch-display. Just use natural scrolling to move in any direction. To get anywhere you simply scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll ... just like you're already used to on the iPad!
* The entire console will consist of just four poorly labeled, black buttons on a black background with no backlighting (taking cues from their highly successful AppleTV remote). This minimalist design philosophy makes for tremendous ease of use e.g. to turn on the heater you simultaneously depress the first and third buttons while shaking the fist on your other hand rapidly back and forth (sensors will successfully detect everything).
* The onboard display will use no color - it'll all be a low-contrast gray text on a gray background theme, just like in MacOS, because Apple believe old people shouldn't be driving (or using computers).
* The seatbelts will attach using magsafe connectors.
* The rims will be rectangular and attached using pentalobe nuts. Note however that the wheels themselves won't be included by default - they will cost an additional $4k. Alternatively, you should be able to buy rim adapters for most other tires out there.
* It will run carOS 1.0 - future versions will enable additional features like opening/closing passenger doors and windows, however Apple are particularly excited to announce carOS will ship with over a billion emojis.
* If you want to pop the hood to add wiper fluid you'll need to take the car to an authorized AppleCar repair shop, although intrepid road warriors may be able to get the job done with a heat gun and really big suction cup.
* Having your car keyed by vandals will be a thing of the past - the complete exterior of AppleCar will be made of the latest version of Gorilla Glass! You can also purchase from a vast array of 3rd party AppleCar protectors if you have any remaining concerns.
* It'll only be available to purchase on the AppleCar Store, where you can NOT test drive it - you can only buy it.
* And it'll cost you the full suite of all your redundant systems, specifically a kidney, a lung and a testicle/ovary (not sure if your first born also qualifies as redundant, Apple marketing will confirm at release time).
They will go down many paths. But it’s not happening.
Sorry folks. That’s just my $0.02 prediction, and I’m sticking to it.