According to a source, Apple is accelerating its efforts to join the car business, with the goal of launching a self-driving electric vehicle in 2025.
Hundreds of electric vehicles in a variety of segments are expected to flood the market in the coming years, from both start-ups and established manufacturers, all of which will contain advanced driver-assistance technology.
While it’s tough to predict which brands or vehicles Apple’s automobile will directly compete with without additional information, it’s reasonable to say that the tech giant will face stiff competition regardless of the type of vehicle it eventually produces.
Under new leadership, the tech company’s long-rumored automobile project has boosted its aspirations, aiming for a fully self-driving vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals. The interior of the automobile would be intended for hands-free driving, with passengers seated in a U-shaped seating arrangement being one option.
Apple’s Project Titan:
The Company’s under-the-radar automotive project, Project Titan, was struck a setback in September when Doug Field, the person in charge of its development, defected to Ford. Despite a spate of top leadership changes at Titan this year, including Field’s, the iPhone maker remains unfazed by the task of entering the competitive electric car sector.
According to a source, Field’s replacement, Apple Watch software executive Kevin Lynch, has set the lofty goals. If the firm can develop a self-driving system in that timeframe, he hopes to have a completely self-driving car in four years.
Given the obstacles, Apple might be better off joining up with a rival like Tesla or Volkswagen, according to Dan Ives, analyst at US investment company Wedbush Securities. Apple has considered partnerships with manufacturers, according to a source.
Given the margin and financial model implications down the line, as well as the strategic product risk associated with such a massive undertaking, Ives noted that they would like to see Apple partner on the EV path rather than start developing its own vehicles/factories.
Despite recent development – such as the car’s fundamental self-driving system, processing chips, and improved sensors – some people working on the project were suspicious about the schedule, according to a source.
Other choices include delaying the launch or selling a car with less technology at first. However, according to the source, Apple has made progress on the chip it plans to utilise for the car’s self-driving system.
Despite considering a design without a steering wheel, Apple has also contemplated adding an emergency takeover capability to the vehicle.
Electric vehicles have attracted significant investor interest, helping to make Tesla CEO Elon Musk the world’s richest man and giving startling stock market valuations to unproven electric vehicle companies like Lucid and Rivian, whose market capitalizations rival those of established, decades-old players.
According to reports, one of the automobile interiors Apple is considering is comparable to the “lifestyle” type created by Canoo, an electric vehicle startup. The car has a U-shaped sitting arrangement in the back, which Canoo describes as a “loft on wheels.”
Since 2014, Apple has been working on Titan, but little information about the project have surfaced, with management hiring and departures mostly serving as a proxy for its progress. However, the Guardian reported in 2015 that Apple was developing a self-driving car and was searching secure areas for testing in the San Francisco Bay area.
Apple’s substantial cash reserves, capacity to attract talent, and strong brand recognition, according to experts, maybe enough to pull off its ambitious EV project. Apple’s demonstrated ability to produce unique technology, combined with its new battery technology, may make the company’s car stand out from the crowd.
Even yet, there’s a chance that Apple won’t construct its own Apple-branded car at all, according to rumours. According to sources, the tech giant may opt to integrate its self-driving technologies and battery packs into the vehicles of a current automaker.
