Early in January 2021, Apple shares shot up after the tech company and the South Korean automotive giant, Hyundai, entered talks. Apple wanted Hyundai to build its car, which sounded like a fantastic idea. Hyundai had been consistently churning out good products for at least a decade, and it was a good fit. Initial reports suggested that the iCar would be built at Kia’s factory in Georgia, so it would be an American product made in America. Not like recent examples fo the iPhone, which are proudly designed in California and (mostly) made in China.
A month after negotiations started, the deal was off. How did things go pear-shaped so quickly? Apple was too greedy, it seems. Instead of the iCar being manufactured alongside the Telluride, Sorento, and Sportage, Apple demanded that the entire factory be dedicated only to its car. Since all of these cars are top sellers, Hyundai gave Apple a hard pass.
Unfortunately, Apple did not learn from this lesson. When shopping for a battery supplier, it approached China’s CATL and BYD. Again, Apple demanded that it should come first, which was a problem. CATL is the world’s biggest battery supplier, selling to BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, Honda, Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
CATL could not prioritize a startup over established brands, so Apple received yet another hard pass.