During its ten-year project to produce an autonomous electric automobile, tech giant Apple reportedly had a clandestine partnership with BYD. According to sources, Apple had several partners for its now-cancelled “Project Titan,” including BYD, the Chinese automaker. It is speculated that the the two businesses collaborated on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells in 2017.
According to sources, Apple and Chinese automaker BYD have been working together since 2014, when Apple executives first saw early iterations of the Blade battery. Based on the reports, Apple contributed knowledge of improved battery packs and heat management, while BYD provided manufacturing expertise and advancements in LFP cell technology.
Apple and BYD Worked Together for an Upcoming EV Vehicle
Sources also speculate that, the two businesses were attempting to integrate their disparate pack and cell initiatives in order to create a long-range, secure battery system for Apple’s car. According to Bloomberg which cited individuals with knowledge of the situation, tech giant Apple withdrew from the partnership and contemplated utilizing systems from different battery manufacturers.
According to reports, Apple’s relationship was supervised by former VW CEO Alexander Hitzinger and battery specialist Mujeeb Ijaz, who together managed a staff of 50 engineers. Moreover, there were numerous delays in the overall automobile project, and the economics of the EV industry eventually proved to be too intimidating.
Apple spent an approximately US $1 billion annually on developing its own autonomous electric car before axing the entire project in February and shifting its resources to their Artificial Intelligence project.
The battery research effort apparently influenced other parts of Apple’s technological portfolio, such as the Vision Pro headset and Neural engine AI chip, yet the company’s automotive ambitions never came to fruition.
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