Apple should learn a lesson from China’s success in electric vehicles

High-tech manufacturing in China over the past year has often felt like watching a looking-glass parody of the US.

In America, electric vehicles have been in retreat all year. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. have scaled back expansion plans and cut jobs amid flagging demand for battery cars. Analyst expectations for Tesla Inc.’s fiscal 2024 net income are barely a third of what they were two years ago. Even Apple Inc. junked its 10-year, multi-billion secretive project to build a revolutionary EV.