In 2014, Apple began working on "Project Titan,"
with upwards of 1,000 car experts and engineers developing an electric vehicle
at a secret location near the company's Cupertino headquarters.
Over the course of the last several years, internal strife,
leadership issues, and other problems impacted the car project and 2016 rumors
even suggested Apple shelved plans for a car, but the most recent information
indicates Apple has overcome development problems and is moving forward with
plans to develop a consumer-facing autonomous vehicle. The Apple Car project
has seen multiple leadership changes and hundreds of employees have been laid
off during the course of development, but it is now under the leadership of
John Giannandrea, Apple's AI and machine learning chief, who took over the
reins from Bob Mansfield after Mansfield retired in 2020.
In December 2020, it was confirmed that Apple is indeed
still working to launch a car, and right now, plans to release a vehicle in
three to six years. Reuters has said Apple is aiming for 2024, but Apple
analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes a car won't launch until 2025 to 2027 at the
earliest. In the first half of 2021, Apple lost several top managers for the
self-driving car team, which could potentially result in development setbacks. Apple
will work with a manufacturing partner to produce the vehicles, and the company
is developing "next level" battery technology to extend range and
efficiency. Apple has held discussions with Hyundai and other automobile
manufacturers, and thought there were rumors that Apple and Hyundai would ink a
deal by March with an aim to start production in 2024, it may take longer for
Apple to find a manufacturing partner. Apple's car team is said to be aiming to
create a self-driving vehicle that would let a user input their destination and
be driven there with "little or no other engagement."
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