Self-driving electric car is supposed to appear in 2025
As the well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman reports, Apple has accelerated its ambitions to develop its first electric car. After several strategy changes since the start of the so-called Titan project in 2014, Apple is following two paths in parallel, according to the report.
On the one hand, the team is working on a model with assistance functions such as those used by Tesla, VW and other car manufacturers. On the other hand, the group is pursuing a version with fully autonomous driving capabilities that do not require human intervention.
According to Gurman’s sources Apple recently achieved an important milestone in the development of the autonomy function. Apple is now assuming that a large part of the core work on the processor for calculating the autonomous functions has been completed.
According to Gurman, the company is preparing to put the chip, which is the “most advanced component developed for the project to date,” through its paces in its fleet of test vehicles in California. The manufacturer also hopes to build a vehicle with “stronger security measures than those of Tesla and Waymo,” the report explains.
Similar to the electric van from Canoo, the Apple Car should have a spacious interior like a limousine. (Photo: Canoo)
According to Gurman’s sources, it is said that Apple’s autonomous car will have no steering wheel or pedals and will offer a lot of space with a sedan-like seating arrangement. It could be similar to the lounge design of the vehicle of the electric car startup Canoo, with which Apple is said to have spoken according to a report from January 2021.
In addition, Apple is researching designs in which the car’s infotainment system – Gurman speculates on a large iPad-like touchscreen – would be in the middle of the vehicle so that users could interact with it while driving. The car would also be strongly linked to the existing services and devices of Apple’s ecosystem, it said. Although the company is aiming to not have a steering wheel, Apple is considering adding some sort of emergency mode to the car.
Within the Titan team, Apple’s plan to bring a fully autonomous vehicle to the streets by 2025 is viewed with skepticism – even if the company has allegedly made great progress.
Apple is not yet completely sure about the business model, according to the report. The group has been considering building a self-driving fleet to compete with Uber, Lyft and Waymo. According to Gurman, the “more likely scenario” is that Apple will sell its cars to individuals.
The group does not intend to use a proprietary charging standard to charge the electric vehicles. Instead, it will probably be compatible with the CCS (Combined Charging System) standard, with which the Apple Cars can be recharged at most public quick-charging stations.
The development of the Apple car under the code name Project Titan has undergone numerous changes in the past few years and experienced many changes in management. Five different executives had previously led the project before Kevin Lynch, who is also responsible for the development of the Apple Watch, took over the management in early 2021. The realignment and timeline could suggest that real progress has been made with the new team lead.
Lynch, who has more of a focus on software and no experience in car development, is supported by experienced employees who have years of expertise in the automotive sector. For example, former Tesla executives Michael Schwekutsch and Stuart Bowers are working with Lynch on the Apple Car. At the beginning of the year Ulrich Kranz also switched from Canoo to Apple, who had previously also been involved in the development of BMW’s electric cars.
