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Summary
- Tech giant Apple is reportedly looking forward to delving into self-driving car technology.
- The information was confirmed by anonymous Apple employees, as Apple refused to comment on future arrangements.
Tech behemoth Apple Inc. is now planning to sink its teeth into car production. The firm aims to dabble in self-driving car technology and develop a passenger vehicle by 2024, unnamed sources from Apple told Reuters.
Reportedly, the company would manufacture a futuristic vehicle with revolutionary battery technology.
The smart gadget company has been working on Project Titan on and off since 2014 when Apple designed the first draft for the vehicle. However, the Project Titan was left unfinished when Apple chose to focus on software developments.
A former Tesla employee, Doug Field, left the competitor company to join Apple and oversee Project Titan in 2018. By 2019, Mr Field let go of almost 200 employees that led the self-driving car development.
As Apple became one of the two most successful software and smart gadget companies globally, it decided to focus on the forgotten Project Titan again. The information came from unnamed Apple sources, as the company has not yet made the decision public.
The tech giant’s foray into consumer vehicle's mass production pits it against the rivals like Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo, which has already built breakthrough self-driving taxis to ferry passengers.
According to Apple's anonymous sources, the new car's battery will completely change electric vehicles as we know it. The battery technology should be cost-effective and drastically reduce overall expenses.
Even though Apple is a multibillion-dollar company, experts believe it could still struggle when it comes to making a profit out of electric cars. For instance, Tesla did not have sustainable revenue for 17 years after it launched.
Image Source: © Kalkine Group 2020
Employees working on Project Titan have mixed feelings about the outcome, as producing smart gadgets and EVs is an entirely different thing. However, they believe Apple is one of the few tech companies that could make the plan work.
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Who would produce the car?
It is important to emphasise that Apple has declined to comment on the electric car matter, so all the information is just a speculation from the employees working on the project.
The workers believe Apple will be outsourcing the manufacturing process instead of doing it in-house.
More details still need to be revealed, as the coronavirus pandemic may cause significant delays and push Project Titan to 2025 or even longer.
What are the new car features?
Apple's car is expected to have multiple lidar sensors, presenting three-dimensional roads within the software. The sensors could also be used for scanning different distances.
It is still unclear if Apple will produce the sensors in-house or hire a third-party car manufacturer for the mass supply.
With the revolutionary battery, Apple employees believe that the new vehicle will have a more extended driving range.
So far, the tech giant has dismissed the lithium-ion-based battery as it poses the risk of overheating. Instead, the firm is testing LFP, lithium iron phosphate.
However, investors involved with Apple warned that the company might not want to produce cars itself, but rather manufacture the innovative technology for acclaimed car partners.
