In 2014, Apple launched a car-making program code-named "Titan" to launch a new energy vehicle that could compete with Tesla. To this end, it has used huge funds to dig up high-end talents from Chrysler, Ford, Tesla and other car companies, and has formed a car-making team with a scale of up to 1,000 employees.
However, Apple's "Titan" plan can be described as a twist and turn, and only a little more than a year later, Apple's car-building plan was shelved due to disagreements among the top level of the team. Among them, the team led by Steve Zadwski, Apple's former head of automotive programs, believes that the top priority of the "Titan" plan is to develop a car product with semi-autonomous driving capabilities. Jonathan Ive believes that the Titan plan needs to build a fully autonomous driving platform for the future of mobility.
For the disagreement between the top of the team, Apple's bearer Cook finally chose to stand for Jonathan Ive, who believes that "in the future, software will become an increasingly important part of the car, and autonomous driving will become more important." As a result, Apple will focus on autonomous driving systems, which are very important core technologies and probably one of the most difficult AI projects Apple has undertaken."
Eventually, with Cook's decision, Apple accelerated its pace in related technology areas, but the Titan project became slower and slower. In recent years, even rumors about the Titans program have mostly failed, and it has only recently been the latest developments.
In the face of titans, South Korean suppliers are polarized
According to South Korea's IT News, following last summer's contacts with South Korea's two major battery giants, LG New Energy and SK, Apple sent people to South Korea again last month to meet with some manufacturers with experience in the production of large-scale electronic components. It is also reported that Apple has made an equity investment in at least one South Korean electronic parts manufacturer and asked it to more than double its production capacity.
Obviously, the purpose of Apple's visit to South Korea is to find a number of suppliers in South Korea that can supply the Titans program on a large scale. You know, only in the field of consumer electronics, including Foxconn, Luxshare Precision, Goertek and other companies because they became suppliers of Apple, they can write a wave of wealth creation myths.
Of course, because Apple has always been decisive, it is not only ruthless to suppliers but also ruthless to themselves. In terms of suppliers, the former Leader Yizhi Manufacturing was forced to lay off 1,000 people after being cut by Apple, and then OFILM was exposed to kick out of Apple's supply chain after the stock price plummeted, losing nearly 90% of the profit source.
For a god of wealth like Apple, South Korean electronic component suppliers present two very different attitudes. Apple's "Titan" program is different from its previous main consumer electronics products, the former's supply chain system is hundreds of times that of the latter, so the automotive industry is such a large supply chain system is enough to attract many companies to flock.
Therefore, companies that hope to seize the cooperation with Apple want to enter Apple's field of vision, hoping to become another wealth creation myth after giants such as Foxconn and Luxshare Precision. In order to respond positively to the request of Apple, the big financier, they have reached an alliance and set up a working group for it.
On the other hand, there are also some Korean electronic component suppliers who have a lingering feeling about Apple's "heart-wrenching". It should be known that Apple has a strong desire to control the suppliers it cooperates with, and it not only needs to master the core technologies such as upstream chip design and autonomous driving solutions in its own hands, but also requires suppliers to keep cooperation matters strictly confidential.
It is reported that once the supplier leaks the relevant news of the "Titan" plan, then the supplier is likely to face the risk of being excluded from the "supplier list" by Apple. At that time, they are likely to repeat the mistakes of OFILM's previous stock price plunge to near bankruptcy.
Interestingly, in addition to some Korean electronic component suppliers who are "not afraid of death" and want to take the Apple "Titan" plan, which is a "sudden wealth" express car that coexists with risks and opportunities, almost all car companies in the automotive circle, as well as power battery suppliers, are not very eager to see Apple, a rich but arrogant financial owner.
For the "Titan", global car companies can not avoid it
Even so far, it is still unclear when Apple's car will produce energy; it is still uncertain about the way Apple will choose to build the car. As we all know, Apple hopes to copy its research and development and production model in the field of consumer electronics to the "Titan" plan, control the technology itself, and hand over the production to the oem.
In Xiao Lei's view, there is no problem in the idea of Apple's car-making model, but it has always found the wrong partner.
From the point of view of ideas, Apple's "Titan" plan wants to build a highly intelligent electric vehicle. In fact, with the development of new energy vehicles, the body structure of the car has been greatly simplified compared to the traditional fuel vehicle, so car companies often tilt their research and development energy to intelligence when developing new cars, which is the so-called "software-defined car".
In the era of software-defined cars, the hardware architecture of car bodies has become difficult to become a focus for consumers, so it is reasonable for Apple to pay more attention to research and development on autonomous driving. In addition, in the era of software-defined cars, highly homogeneous automotive hardware has spawned a large number of automotive foundries with advanced hardware technologies.
Xiao Lei believes that the OEM model that Apple wants to copy is very likely to become the mainstream model of the future automobile manufacturing industry. However, the problem with Apple's "Titan" plan in terms of production and manufacturing is that it is not looking for car OEMs, but car companies with centuries-old car heritage.
In fact, Apple has negotiated with at least 6 car manufacturers, including BMW, Daimler, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai, for its car manufacturing plan, but these automakers have all rejected cooperation with Apple without exception. Xiao Lei believes that the reason why the "Titan" program will progress slowly is mainly because it has spent too much useless work and eaten too much behind closed doors with these auto giants.
From the perspective of human nature, the reason why Apple will eat behind closed doors in front of many car giants is actually very understandable. These old-fashioned traditional car companies are like a group of predecessors with absolute authority, and Apple is still just a fledgling recruit at this time.
It is unrealistic to want a group of old traditional car companies to listen to the blind command of a recruit without any right, after all, traditional car companies are not professional OEM Foxconn, they also have pursuits and face.
It should be known that intelligent and electrified transformation is the only way out for traditional car companies. Cooperation with Apple OEM, which is strictly confidential about technology, will not be much improved for both the car company's own industry and brand value, so such a cooperation model is obviously not what the auto giants want.
Automobile manufacturing as a heavy asset industry, production capacity is an important indicator of a car company to make money, and Apple wants to seek cooperation in the top car companies themselves are tight production capacity, they are in order to improve production and sales are eager to start 24 hours a day, where will there be excess production capacity to outsiders OEM? OEM occupies production capacity, and the profit is relatively low, so the car company gives Apple OEM more than it loses.
Finally, there is the most realistic problem, and that is money. OEM is tantamount to helping others work, for top car companies, the profitability of OEM for others is far less than their own research and development, their own car manufacturing. You can build your own car, why do you have to do OEM work for others? As for how to choose between being a boss and a part-time worker, I think Mr. Zhou, who "can't work in this life" in Nanning, Guangxi, has the last say.
In Xiao Lei's view, since the road to finding top car companies has been basically cut off, if Apple does not want to build its own car factory, then finding professional car OEM cooperation may be the only choice for Apple to continue to complete the "Titan" car-making plan. Because there is no competition between car OEMs and Apple, they will not look at Apple's automotive technology, and there is no conflict of interest.
To build a car, Apple should find the right people to do the right thing
When it comes to oem work for Apple, I believe many people will think of its old buddy Foxconn. Indeed, Foxconn and Apple have many years of cooperation experience, and the two sides have a very high tacit understanding, and the two companies complement each other. It can be said that without Foxconn, Apple would not have achieved today's achievements, and without Apple, Foxconn could not achieve its current glory.
However, in Xiao Lei's view, although Foxconn has a pivotal position in the field of foundry of fast-moving consumer goods such as mobile phones and tablets, and apple also has rich experience in cooperation, even if it has established a joint venture company with Geely focusing on automotive foundry business, it is still a fledgling newcomer in automotive OEM. Judging from Apple's previous experience of specifically seeking cooperation with the world's top car companies, it is difficult for Apple to look at Foxconn, which has no car-making background like it.
In addition, Apple is gradually reducing its dependence on Foxconn in recent years, and Foxconn has begun to work on other businesses a few years ago, hoping to actively achieve de-Appleization. If Apple intends to reach a cooperation business with Foxconn in automobile foundry, then with the tacit understanding between the two of them for many years, it should have been a hit-and-shoot long ago, and Apple's car-making plan will not be delayed until now.
In addition to Foxconn in the field of electronic product foundry, there is such a giant in the automotive field, it is not only the world's third largest auto parts supplier, but also known as the "emperor of automotive foundry", of which we are familiar with Mercedes-Benz Big G, Jaguar I-PACE and other luxury cars are from its handwriting, its name is Magna.
Magna has extensive experience in automotive design and OEM, and most of the products designed for OEM are high-end luxury brand models. Xiao Lei believes that if Apple wants to find a car oem with both high-end attributes and car manufacturing heritage, then Magna is perfectly in line with Apple's requirements.
In addition, when Apple first revealed the wind about car building to the outside world 7 years ago, Magna had already negotiated with Apple. It can be seen that Magna, which has both strength and fame in the automotive field, is likely to become the preferred OEM of Apple's car-making plan.
Note: The material for this article comes from the Internet