Apple Had A Hush-Hush Relationship With Tesla's Chinese-Rival BYD For Now-Abandoned Car Plans — Cupertino Poured Nearly $1B Each Year For A Decade Into The Project

Apple Inc. AAPL reportedly had a secret partnership with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Co Ltd BYDDY BYDDF to create long-range electric vehicle batteries.

What Happened: The partnership started in 2017 and aimed to develop a battery system using lithium iron phosphate cells, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

While Apple does not own any technology used in BYD’s current Blade batteries, this development proves Cupertino's efforts to produce a car.

See Also: As Nvidia, Apple And Microsoft Race Towards $4 Trillion Valuation, Generative AI Startups Reportedly Draw 40% Of All VC Investment

Previously, it was reported that the tech giant spent roughly $1 billion annually over the past decade on its car project, known internally as "Titan," before pulling the plug.

Today, BYD’s entire car lineup is powered by the Blade system — a battery pack design shaped by insights gained from its Apple collaboration, the report noted.

Eventually, Apple decided to back away from the partnership and consider systems from other battery manufacturers.

In February, it was reported that the iPhone-maker had abandoned the project.

Apple and BYD did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.

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Why It Matters: Earlier this week it was reported that Apple has terminated its self-driving vehicle testing permit, which was granted in 2017.

The seeds of Apple Car were sowed by the company's legendary co-founder Steve Jobs, who wanted the tech giant to create "this generation's Volkswagen Beetle."

Now, while Apple has canceled the project, it continues to innovate in the automotive space. For example, in July 2024, it was reported that Apple had patented a novel camera system for cars.

Image via Unsplash

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