According to Foxconn ’ s new CEO , Young Liu , “ electric vehicles are the new iPhone .” With the market for EVs ( particularly in China , where favourable government subsidies helped manufacturers sell more than 1.3mn electric cars last year ) steadily on the rise , companies from industries ranging from real estate to consumer electronics are getting into the game . Tesla ’ s competition is getting fiercer every day .

The iPhone manufacturer has been rumoured to be working on an electric vehicle since 2014 , but always remained coy about details . That changed in December , when the tech giant revealed that its Project Titan unit aims to put an electric car on the road by 2024 .

Chinese smartphone giant , Xiaomi , announced in March that it is investing $ 10bn into electric vehicle R & D over the next decade in order to bring its own EV to market .

“ Xiaomi hopes to offer quality smart electric vehicles to let everyone in the world enjoy smart living anytime , anywhere ”

The smartphone industry ’ s loss is the EV sector ’ s gain . Amid swirling rumours , LG announced in April that it would close down its smartphone business ( known for weird , wacky , innovative designs and mediocre sales figures ) in favour of pursuing other revenue streams . One of the new directions for the South Korean tech giant will be EV parts , which the company plans to manufacture in collaboration with Magna International .

16 July 2021