After a decade and billions of dollars, the American technology company Apple made the decision to cancel its electric car project.
According to a Bloomberg report, written by famed tech journalist Mark Gurman, Apple announced this week that the car project will be canceled for the nearly 2,000 employees assigned to the project.
Apple’s car, known internally as “Project Titan” within the Special Projects Group, aimed to revolutionize the auto industry, with a revolutionary generation of level five autonomous driving to remove the steering wheel and pedals from the vehicle.
At the end of 2022, it was reported that Apple had lowered expectations for its self-driving generation from Level Five to Level Four, in which the car could be driven only in peak environments, but with a steering wheel and pedals in position for the motive force to take under certain circumstances.
While the vehicle’s launch was scheduled for 2026 (and allocation would first begin in 2014), a recent report claimed that the timeline had been pushed back to 2028 and that its autonomous driving generation had been downgraded from level four to level 2. .
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Level 2 is the umbrella term for the semi-autonomous features that come with radar cruise and lane centering assist, which can be found in many new cars on sale today.
Company officials have revealed that this is a “deal or break” for the task in recent weeks, telling Bloomberg that “regardless, the company is able to deliver this product with reduced expectations, or senior executives could simply seriously reconsider the task’s lifestyles. “
According to the latest report, Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, and Kevin Lynch, vice president in charge of the auto division, have made the decision to abandon the project.
Previous reports claimed that Project Titan had two secret offices: headquartered at an unsigned location near Apple’s campus in Cupertino in the U. S. , and based at an unsigned location. Apple is also understood to have bought a former Chrysler test floor in Arizona, paying $125 million (A$168 million) for 2021.
Bloomberg says there will be layoffs as a result of the decision, though many workers will be reassigned to Apple’s synthetic intelligence division.
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Apple expected to have to value the electric vehicle at $100,000, about the same amount as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but board leaders reportedly worried that the vehicle would generate huge profits, especially with hundreds of dollars. Millions of dollars are invested every year in its development.
In 2021, a report claimed that Apple struck a deal with LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture with South Korean tech giant LG Electronics and Canadian automaker Magna, to source batteries and electric motors, as well as potentially build the vehicle. on behalf of Apple in North America.
At the time, he announced that Apple aimed to unveil its prototype in early 2024.
Previously, Apple reportedly explored a relationship with Hyundai, before the South Korean automaker proved that the iPhone company had “suspended negotiations. “
While Apple has yet to confirm the cancellation of the vehicle, if true, it marks the end of arguably the American tech giant’s most ambitious project, in which billions of dollars have been invested in development over the past decade.
Journalist
Ben Zachariah is a seasoned journalist and automotive from Melbourne, having worked in the automotive industry for more than two decades. Ben began writing professionally over 15 years ago and in the past was an interstate truck driver. He finished his MBA in Finance in early 2021 and is considered an expert in antique vehicle investing.