Apple Car Set to Launch in 2019
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, iPhone and iMac developers Apple Inc. (AAPL) is “accelerating efforts” to build its rumored electric car, codenamed Project Titan, per “people familiar with the matter.” The goal of this “committed project” is to set a specific shipping date for 2019.
Unfortunately for everyone interested in the rumors, you all will have to wait potentially another 4 years before getting into an Apple car. More information should be coming out in the near future, especially whenever Apple begins testing the car on public roads. Furthermore, the WSJ article notes that “In Apple’s parlance, a ‘ship date’ doesn’t necessarily mean the date that customers receive a new product; it can also mean the date that engineers sign off on the product’s main features.”
Another intriguing part of this report is that the first car will not be fully autonomous as the Google (GOOGL) Self-Driving Car and the also rumored Tesla (TSLA) autonomous car are to be designed, despite this type of driving system being part of Apple’s long-term plan for the project.
Project Titan has been given permission to triple its 600 member team, which already consists of automotive experts. Apple wants to apply its “expertise that it has honed in developing iPhones—in areas such as batteries, sensors and hardware-software integration—to the next generation of cars.”
The 2019 “ship date” is rather ambitious, especially for a project of this size and magnitude. Time and other external factors will be playing a role and shaping Apple’s project goals and decisions. Currently, the market for electric cars is weak due to low gas prices, vehicle prices, battery range, and lack of an electrical infrastructure.
When Apple finally gets around to 2019 to either promote a finish product or the technology to build the electric vehicle, established automotive companies, such as Tesla, General Motors (GM), Nissan (NSANY), and the other notable companies may very well have an electrical car developed.
If Apple does pull off this project by 2019, the automotive market may very well be dramatically different than its current state. They need to hope that the electric and autonomous car market is in high demand by the time the Apple car is completed. Otherwise, Apple will need to also find a way to create a demand in a limited market.
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