Although Apple has yet to even admit it’s working on a self-driving electric vehicle, plenty of people want to buy a car from Cupertino. Almost a third of recent car buyers say they’d consider an Apple car. And that includes more than half of Tesla owners.
It seems clear that if the Mac-maker can transform itself into an automaker, it could have a real hit on its hands.
April 22, 2013: The world gets its first Apple car. Well, kind of.
In reality, the iBeetle is a collaboration with German automaker Volkswagen that offers a car “stylistically linked” to Apple. This means Apple-inspired colors, a built-in docking station for your iPhone, and a special app that lets you control the car’s features.
Apple is reportedly committed to making a car capable of driving completely autonomously. The new head of the project won’t be satisfied with a vehicle with only limited capabilities.
The car might not need a steering wheel or pedals at all. And it could be on the road by 2025.
Development of an Apple car just hit another speed bump. Doug Field, who’d reportedly been managing the project, just left to join the Ford Motor Company.
This is surely a blow to Apple’s secretive automotive efforts. And the company was already multiple years away from having anything to put in a showroom, according to the latest leaks.
Ulrich Kranz, who once developed electric cars for auto-giant BMW, has reportedly been hired by Apple. He’ll become an important part of the Mac-maker’s ongoing efforts to create a self-driving Apple car.
A deal between Foxconn and Fisker might eventually lead to Apple having its self-driving car produced by the same company that assembles iPhones.
Electric vehicle-maker Fisker agreed on Wednesday to team up with Foxconn to develop a “breakthrough electric vehicle.” Foxconn will manufacture the car.
Apple Car on-road testing increased substantially in 2020. The number of miles driven went up 2.5 times. It’s another sign the company is getting more serious about its self-driving vehicle.
No one will ever drive an Apple car, according to leaked information. Apple is reportedly planning a vehicle that’s completely autonomous. It’ll be programmed, not driven.
That would make it less like what Tesla offers and more like what Alphabet’s Waymo is developing.
Apple reportedly hired Manfred Harrer for its top-secret self-driving vehicle project. It’s a telling move because Harrer previously was head of chassis development at Porsche. This is a clear sign that the Mac-maker is planning an Apple car, not simply an autonomous vehicle system to be licensed to automakers.
Apple’s plan to make a self-driving vehicle is back on track, according to an unconfirmed report from a very reliable source. But the Apple Car won‘t be out for several years.
Still, as part of the effort the company recently snapped up Tesla’s head of autonomous vehicle software development to work on the project.
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