South America controls about 70% of the world’s reserves of lithium, the metal used in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones and electric vehicles, but none of the infrastructure needed to put it to work.

The milkman went missing thanks to the rise of refrigerators. Switchboard operators were done in by the dawn of direct dialing. And in the car industry, auto workers are deathly afraid the engine assembler will give way to battery builders.

When a supply chain is lean and responsive to data, economic downturns can have minimal impact.

Even without Apple Inc., Chinese companies are building world-class, premium products, though China’s signature feature of undercutting the established market remains.

Put together the best solar panels money can buy, super-efficient batteries and decades of car-making know-how and, theoretically, a vehicle might run forever.

Geopolitical volatility adds another layer of uncertainty to an industry in the midst of a radical overhaul as the end of combustion-engine era looms.

The claims came from China Labor Watch, which issued the report ahead of an Apple event on Tuesday to announce new iPhones.