Input 2021.02.05 11:02 | Revision 2021.02.05 11:12
Negotiating with at least 6 Japanese companies… Honda, Nissan, Mazda, etc.
Foreign press “Not only Korea and Japan, but also GM and Peugeot are looking forward to collaboration”
While selecting a partner company for Apple’s electric vehicle (EV) production, Japanese media reported that it is in negotiations with not only Hyundai and Kia Motors, but also Japanese automakers. There is also a forecast that Apple will adopt the strategy of’multi-vendor (a method that induces competition by receiving supplies from multiple parts manufacturers rather than one)’ that Apple has traditionally taken in the automotive field.
On the 5th, the Nippon Geizai Shimbun reported that “(Apple) is in negotiations with at least six companies in Japan,” citing an official from Apple’s parts supplier. The official said, “It is at the stage of negotiations on which company Apple will entrust the consignment production to,” and said, “We do not know whether the Korean company (Kia Motors) was finally selected.”
Previously, CNBC and others cited sources, and CNBC cited sources and said that negotiations to manufacture an Apple-branded autonomous electric vehicle at the Kia assembly plant in West Point, Georgia, were nearing the final stage. The sources said the Apple car, which is being developed by Apple’s internal team, is tentatively scheduled to go into production in 2024, but that the final launch could be delayed.
However, sources said that a final agreement between Apple and Hyundai-Kia Motors has not yet been reached, and that Apple may join hands with other automakers. A source familiar with Apple’s automotive development strategy added, “I don’t think Hyundai is the only automaker that they (Apple) will negotiate with.”
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun estimates that Apple has the Apple Technology Center, which is a research base in Yokohama, Japan, which serves as a point of contact with Japanese automakers and parts makers. However, questions remain as to whether Japanese automakers will be able to agree on Apple’s requirements. That’s because you have to decide whether it’s in your own interests to accept the design and production methods Apple requires.
Korean and Japanese companies aren’t the only ones on the list of Apple’s electric car production. Ming-chi Guo, a researcher at Taiwan TF International Securities, who is familiar with Apple’s news, also recently suggested the possibility that multiple automakers would be selected as Apple’s consignment manufacturers, saying, “In addition to Hyundai Motors, GM and Peugeot-Citroin will also be the target of Apple car collaboration.”
In general, Apple chooses a multi-vendor strategy that produces products through two or three companies through a production standardization model, rather than selecting one component manufacturer and consignment production partner in the production process of core products such as iPhone and iPad. Have been doing. In particular, in the case of the electric vehicle business, which is taking its first step, the prospect that it will not depend on a single vendor is predominant because problems such as shortage of parts and yield may occur during the production process.
In addition, producing Apple’s electric car means that it will be the first case that a finished car company will receive a’subcontractor’ from an IT company, Nihon Geizai analyzed. Automakers, which are at the peak of the automobile production pyramid, will be placed under the IT giants. Nihon Keizai quoted an executive at a Japanese automobile company and emphasized that “it can be a tough decision as it is a big decision that gives the car industry leadership.”