Some thought about the SDL news, page-12

Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes 'next level' battery technology

As for the car’s battery, Apple plans to use a unique “monocell” design that bulks up the individual cells in the battery and frees up space inside the battery pack by eliminating pouches and modules that hold battery materials, one of the people said.

Apple’s design means that more active material can be packed inside the battery, giving the car a potentially longer range.

Apple is also examining a chemistry for the battery called LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, the person said, which is inherently less likely to overheat and is thus safer than other types of lithium-ion batteries.

”It’s next level,” the person said of Apple’s battery technology.

“Like the first time you saw the iPhone.”

To turn a profit, automotive contract manufacturers often ask for volumes that could pose a challenge even to Apple, which would be a newcomer to the automotive market.

“In order to have a viable assembly plant, you need 100,000 vehicles annually, with more volume to come,” the person said.

www.reuters.com


Apple Car May Be For Sale By September 2021, Says Taiwanese Newspaper

If Teslas are smartphones on wheels, what would an Apple car be?

While you think about a clever remark, the Taiwanese newspaper Economic Daily News said Apple is rushing its suppliers to start producing parts for its electric vehicle with cutting-edge autonomous tech.

Although this is still a rumor, it is a strong one, confirmed with several suppliers' sources.

The Taiwanese report informs that Heda, Bizlink-KY, Heqin, and Tomita were told to rush component production for that car, which would be slated to hit the market in September 2021.

If you think about it, that seems like a good reason for Foxconn to have announced its will to produce an open-source electric car platform back in October.

Ironically, Apple’s main supplier said it wanted to be "the Android of electric cars."

Apart from Apple, there’s another American company with orders to these companies: Amazon, which suppliers call one of the "Double American As" – the other is Apple.

To be more precise, the suppliers were referring to Rivian.

The same executives would have said the delivery van Rivian is building for Amazon will start to hit American roads in August 2021 and be delivered worldwide in 2022.

Rivian would also rely heavily on Taiwanese suppliers.

Unless Google Translate failed us, we can expect the Apple Car by September 2021 and the Rivian delivery van a little earlier, in August of next year.

This time – and although the Wayback Machine is always around – we saved the Economic Daily News article.

It's a precaution to make sure we can check whether it was right or wrong when the time comes.

Foxconn gives us a hunch the Taiwanese newspaper will hit the nail in the head.

https://insideevs.com/news/461571/apple-car-sale-september-2021/