Apple Car May Initially Be Made in Small Numbers by LG Magna e-Powertrain

[Blowback]

Apple is "very near" to signing an agreement with LG and Magna to build its long-rumored electric vehicle, according to The Korea Times.

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.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.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.

Article Link: Apple Car May Initially Be Made in Small Numbers by LG Magna e-Powertrain

"IF" an Apple Car eventually materializes.....what I'm looking forward to most is the PRICE! Especially the 'PRO" model!

 

[DrV]

LG Chem is well known around the world for producing some of the best 18650 lithium ion battery cells.
But other EV components? Not so much

LG Chem is actually quite experienced in BEV drivetrains. Chevrolet Bolt drivetrain (battery, motor, drive unit) was designed by LG and GM in close cooperation, and it was originally manufactured in South Korea. The same concept seems to have been going on with Hyundai/Kia BEVs.

Choosing LG Chem as a development partner for BEVs does not seem to be a bad choice; the Korean BEVs have very energy efficient drivetrains, not necessarily inferior to Tesla's.

 

[DrV]

I can't wait. The current offerings of electric cars are still way too flawed in some ways. Either it's the range, the design, the price or the autonomous driving. There is room for Apple to disrupt this industry and to offer a meaningful solution that does all these things right in one swift move. They need to hurry though, the competition is not as asleep as the phone competition was back in 2007, Tesla is way ahead, VW woke up and even Mercedes seems to have finally done a great job with the new EQS.
From Apple I want a Honda E design with better range and full autonomous driving in an affordable leasing model.

Cars have been manufactured in large quantities for over a century. Car industry has been showing the way in very many important manufacturing innovations from Ford Model T's moving manufacturing line to Just-in-time manufacturing (including kanban, etc.). Cost-efficiency is probably better in car industry than any other similar branch.

So, it is highly unlikely anyone could manufacture cars at a significantly lower cost than everyone else. Tesla has been very bold about their cost structure, but now that we have competitors emerging, the prices and costs are close to each other. Quality and features vary between manufacturers and models.

You mention four properties: range, design, price, autonomous driving. A closer look into these reveal they are not independent properties nor something that is not done well at the moment:

1. range: cost (size of batteries), design (aerodynamics)
2. design: exterior determines range, interior needs to meet the transportation needs but has more flexibility
3. price: everything reflects here
4. autonomous driving: technological and legal challenges

Apple has not been very good at price/performance ratio, especially when the performance has been measured in quantitative terms. I would not expect to see an Apple car with superior range and low price tag.

Design is certainly one of Apple's strengths. There is a lot of physics in designing a car (aerodynamics, interior space, safety), but there is a lot of room for improvement in the user experience of modern cars. This cannot be achieved with today's big screen touch interfaces and voice control, as everyone and their dog is doing that right now (and failing miserably). But maybe haptics, gestures, physical buttons, etc. can be used to create a great user experience even with gloves on in the dark.

Autonomous driving is a difficult one. Tesla was leading the pack, but even its road to level 4 looks difficult. A lot of money and very bright people are already developing solutions in the field, and it is difficult to see what disruptive Apple could bring. Apple could leverage its HW expertise by creating well-integrated autonomous vehicle systems (just as Tesla has done), but would that be enough?

Year 2007 is always worth analysing. Why did Apple win the smartphone game? Why was king Nokia overthrown, why did a long list of manufacturers (latest LG) give up? There were three things Apple had and others did not: great UX design, iTunes Store, and excellent brand among US consumers. These made it possible to create a seamless infrastructure for apps and content. Overseas competitors did well in the hardware game, but they could not get the customers for digital business.

Does Apple have something similar in cars? What could it be? Great brand, at least, but how to transform cars into digital business?

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

Smart decision... LG is strong on the electric part and Magna on the actual car part including rather quick prototyping.
Magna also has facilities in Europe which currently is the most attractive market for BEVs.
Both of them don't have their own car brand so they are not competition.

 

[Black Belt]

Instead of the usual macho car names, I hope they go for something fun and creative like types of Apples 🍎- Fuji, Honeycrisp, Delicious, Rome, Empire. etc

 

[Strozzascotte]

Instead of the usual macho car names, I hope they go for something fun and creative like types of Apples 🍎- Fuji, Honeycrisp, Delicious, Rome, Empire. etc

It would be nice, but you’ll have “Apple Car Series 1” instead.

 

[lxmeta]

This seems like a weird move. It seems like Apple gains little by giving up manufacturing control when the entire company and everything it owns is worth less than 1/1000 of Apple.

And what is it then that Apple is manufacturing?
I guess they are also smart enough to realise how manufacturing issues did hold back Tesla in scale and possible quality. Magna is one of the best contract manufacturers in that space.

 

[WLSON]

Maybe I will regret this like the old Apple MP3 player rumors but I don’t care.. Apple is not releasing a car.

Not because it doesn't make sense but because they're simply too late.

LG Chem is well known around the world for producing some of the best 18650 lithium ion battery cells.
But other EV components? Not so much

Panasonic is currently the best at cylindrical cells (18650/2170) not LG.