Apple Car won’t be ready for at least a decade

Rumors of Apple’s work on a self-driving car have increased in recent weeks, but the project is still in its early stages and it will be years before an Apple Car is launched, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

Sources familiar with Apple’s product plans were told Bloomberg that Apple will take “at least half a decade” to launch a standalone electric vehicle.

Apple has a small team of hardware engineers working on transmission systems, vehicle interiors and exterior car designs with the goal of finally sending a vehicle to customers.

Apple’s car plans have changed several times over the years and just a couple of years ago, rumors indicated that Apple had decided to give up the development of a full car and instead focused on a autonomous driving system that could perhaps be provided to other vehicle manufacturers.

As development has continued, Apple is once again focusing on the more ambitious goal of creating an entire vehicle. The car team aims to create a standalone vehicle that allows a user to enter their destination and be driven there with “little or no other commitment”.

The car “isn’t nearly close to the production stage” and could be ready in five or seven years, though deadlines could change. Apple is also pursuing an automatic driving system for a third-party partner, so the company could choose to end the development of its own car.

Apple Car employees currently work from home or spend limited time in the office, which seems to be holding back the work of the vehicle project. Apple has a wide range of automotive experts working on the project, as he mentions Bloomberg.

It includes former Tesla vice president of interior design Steve MacManus, self-driving safety expert and former Waymo employee Jaime Waydo, and former Tesla vice president Michael Schwekutsch, who worked in engines and transmissions. Apple recently picked up Jonathan Sive, a BMW vehicle engineer who also worked at Tesla and Waymo, and Stuart Bowers, another former Tesla vice president.

Vehicle-related job listings suggest Apple’s hiring is increasing, the Cupertino company is looking for employees with experience in wireless communication, LED lighting, high-voltage battery systems and more.

A recent report from Reuters it was suggested that Apple wants to launch a car in 2024, but this timeline sounds ambitious according to new information from Bloomberg. Reuters said Apple is developing a new battery design that will reduce cost and increase range, and has also been working with automotive supply companies.

Another report indicates that Apple is designing a custom chip for the “Apple Car” that TSMC will manufacture and Bloomberg confirms that Johny Srouji’s team is developing a custom Arm-based chip with a focus on machine learning processing to make the automatic driving system work.

Apple is likely to use a manufacturing partner to build the vehicles, but it remains unclear which company could reach an agreement with Apple. Rumors in 2016 indicated that Apple was in talks with Magna International, but the talks ended as Apple’s plans at the time were unclear.