Apple is now set to deliver an electric vehicle capable of driving its passengers within the next four years, according to a report in Bloomberg. Apple says that its new product will ship as a vehicle, one of the EVs that can carry its passengers within the next four years. Apple claims it is not just coming with an ordinary EV, it is going to be offering a new EV with full self-driving capabilities, according to a Gizmodo report.
Apple has been talking with a number of major automakers, with this years project becoming increasingly realistic, but it seems the tech giant is more interested in developing the highly-rumored Apple EV itself. Apple seems to have concluded Apples going to have to make the vehicle itself, because discussions with carmakers about cooperating in the project were continually delayed. Apple has adjusted the project to focus more on underlying technology for autonomous vehicles than actually building an auto, and although early rumors suggested Apples was still developing a vehicle and continuing to seek partnerships, more recent information indicates work on an actual vehicle has been stopped for now. After former Apple executive Bob Mansfield began leading the project in summer 2016, the strategy of Apples cars was said to have moved toward self-driving, and during August and September 2016, Apple laid off dozens of employees working on the project following a internal reboot, many of whom went on to join other autonomous-driving startups.
According to a report by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, the company has been working on both systems – but has more recently combined the work in one, single, self-driving vehicle. The maker of the iPhone and Macintosh has hundreds of engineers working on autonomous vehicle tech, as well as teams of employees working separately on an actual car. Apple Car, a long-rumored electric car (EV) and self-driving vehicle by iPhone and Macintosh manufacturer The iPhone and Macintosh maker, appears to be a real project. Recent rumors about the possibility that the Apple Car might be built around E-GMP appear to confirm Apples plans for an actual car, rather than a sort of self-driving platform which might be licensed out to existing automakers.
The Apple Car would most likely be an autonomous electric car, built in collaboration with a well-established automaker. It will even have three pedals and a big front grill, both things that will counter many, many of the rumors about an Apple Car being a fully-electric car. According to Min-Chi Kuo, the Apple Car will be a very high-end car, selling for and costing substantially more in components than conventional EVs.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple is working on the Apple Car, which would launch sometime in 2023 or 2025, although there are some rumors suggesting Apple has stopped working on an autonomous car, focusing on software instead. Initial reports said Apple-designed vehicles will have an internal ship date in 2021 for electric cars, but some rumors claim the first-generation models will not be autonomous vehicles.
Speculation about whether its secretive electric vehicle will be self-driving was raised in May, when Apple met officials at a former naval station outside of San Francisco used for testing autonomous vehicles. The approval for an autonomous vehicle test permit allows the Apple-designed car to take autonomous driving on public roads, something that companies cannot legally do without a permit.
In this case, Apple is said to be providing autonomous-driving technology, with a reputable carmaker handling commercial-vehicle fleets. Apple has hired several Drive.ai employees, both engineering and product design, to work on its self-driving vehicle project.
Apple has a small team of hardware engineers who are developing drive systems, car interiors, and exterior design for the vehicle, with the aim to ultimately deliver the car. Last year, Apple switched its Titan Project from being an all-car project to being a platform designed to allow for autonomous vehicles, either ultimately made by Apple or partner manufacturers, or as self-driving rides for ride-sharing services. As of October 2016, reports suggest that Apple-DIY appears to be scaling back on Project Titan overall in order to focus on autonomous driving technologies — in particular, giving it a chance to either partner with an existing carmaker or come back and develop a car at a later date. Apple Inc. is pushing to speed up the development of the Apple electric vehicle, according to sources close to the situation, and is refocusing Apples projects on fully autonomous capabilities, which aim to address the technological challenges plaguing the automotive industry.
Tech titan Apple might be pushing slightly outside of Apples comfort zone–OK, well, out of its comfort zone–in trying to build an electric vehicle, but if any company had the resources and the cash flow to accomplish such lofty goals, Apple would be near the top of most peoples lists. While it might seem odd for a computer company to begin making cars, it is not the only one doing so. There is still the possibility Apple decides to scale back the Apple efforts to a self-driving system that will integrate with cars made by a conventional carmaker, instead of the iPhone maker selling a vehicle under its own name, one person added. According to a report in Reuters at the end of 2020, Reuters, Apple plans to keep developing autonomous driving tech, and plans to manufacture its own passenger vehicle to demonstrate it by 2024.
