BEIJING, March 4 (TMTPOST)— Apple was reported to consider two of its major suppliers in China—Foxconn and Luxshare Precision join in the supply chain for the Apple Car, a secret electric vehicle (EV) project that the U.S. tech giant hasn’t disclosed any details but was said to have been working on it since 2018.  

Apple may not work with Foxconn and Luxshare at first for development of the Apple Car but could choose them later for their entry into the new energy sector, and they could play a key role in the project in the future, DigiTimes, a Taiwan-based media outlet for semiconductor, electronics and communications industries, cited sources in the industry.

At last October's Hon Hai Tech Day 2021 (HHTD21) event, Foxconn’s parent Hon Hai Technology Group for the first time unveiled three EV models: Model C, the first model built on Hon Hai’s EV open platform and positioned as the intrinsically optimized electric SUV with pure electric nature, Model E, a luxury flagship sedan co-developed by Hon Hai and Italian design firm Pininfarina, and the Model T, a stylish urban bus positioned as an intelligent transportation solution which has just started delivery earlier this week. The company is expected to release two more EV models in the coming October.

Image of HHTD21 event from Taiwan-based Central News Agency

Last month, Luxshare settled an agreement with Chery, a major Chinese automaker, to establish a joint venture to design, develop and build new energy vehicles (NEVs). With an investment of RMB10.1 billion (US$1.6 billion), Luxshare became the fourth largest shareholder of Chery. Later that month, the Shenzhen-listed primary assembler of AirPods products disclosed it started to issue new shares worth up to RMB13.5 billion (US$2.1 billion) to fund projects with relevant downstream sectors including consumer electronics and automotive electronics. And about RMB2 billion of the proceeds is set to spend on production of EV components.

Some analysts believe that Foxconn is less likely to be Apple’s first choice for its EV project as South Korea’s Hyundai and Canadian manufacturer Magna International—two companies that are talking with Apple for cooperation are more experienced than Foxconn in auto-making, DigiTimes reported. Luxshare, on the other hand, is facing fierce competitions from domestic automobile manufactures as well as smartphone suppliers which is expanding their businesses into EV, the media quoted sources.