Former Porsche manager will come on board
Manfred Harrer played a key role in the development of the Porsche Taycan. (Photo: Porsche)
No time right now?
The iPhone company is apparently getting the Cayenne boss to advance vehicle development. Manfred Harrer is regarded as an expert in steering, chassis and autonomous driving.
The German engineer and Porsche manager Manfred Harrer will probably soon be working for Apple. Manager Magazin speaks of one Recruitment Coup. The US group secure one with it the best suspension developers in the worldwrites Business Insider. According to the LinkedIn profile, Harrer is still in the service of the sports car manufacturer. However, he is said to have said goodbye to his colleagues at the end of last year. Allegedly, Porsche insisted on a ban before Harrer can start with the new employer. This is common in the industry.
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The graduate engineer started his career at Audi. After moving to BMW, he earned a reputation there as an expert in steering. In 2007 he joined Porsche. There he took over the chassis development in 2016. In this capacity he presented the Porsche Taycan, the brand’s first electric car. Months before he left, the company promoted him to head of the Cayenne range. Harrer is also considered an expert in autonomous driving.
According to rumors, Apple had given up vehicle development in the meantime, but never developed an autonomous driving system. Although he is said to have earned more than 600,000 euros a year at Porsche, industry insiders estimate that the tech giant will increase this salary. Harrer, so it is said from his former environment, should not have decided to take the step because of the financial incentives.
Apple’s auto plans are thriving
According to market researchers, Apple will have over 2020 alone 300 positions in the field of vehicle development written out. In addition to the Harrer personality, the company should commit itself to Hyundai as a partner and to do so around three billion dollars have promised to build a factory. The two companies want to sign the contract on February 17th. The Hyundai subsidiary Kia is to take over the production. There were concerns in the Korean company that Apple could downgrade the vehicle manufacturer to a manufacturer. Therefore, according to reports, the order was pushed to Kia. Most recently it was said that Apple was building the car on Hyundai’s GMP platform, but was also flirting with other partners.
