Zhitong Finance APP has learned that Apple (NASDAQ:)(AAPL.US) has decided to delay the introduction of self-driving cars to the market by about a year to 2026, and will no longer produce electric cars without steering wheels or pedals, and instead adopt a ” A less ambitious design” that only supports fully autonomous driving on highways. Expect the sticker price for the car to be under $100,000.
Apple’s Titan car project has been in the works for years and has undergone several dramatic turns, but at its core is a powerful in-vehicle computer system that the company believes could be a game-changer for the auto industry. As for the outer shell of the iCar, Apple is said to have yet to finalize its design, and the vehicle is still in the early prototype stage. The latest timeline is for Apple to release the car’s design in 2023, have a feature list ready by 2024, then conduct extensive testing in 2025 and bring it to market in 2026.
It is reported that Magna International and Hyundai Motor are the main candidate partners for Apple in manufacturing, and other companies that may cooperate include Foxconn, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen and Tesla. Some analysts say Apple will seek to partner with Xpeng Motors or NIO in China. In addition, Apple has negotiated with many companies such as Volkswagen for the licensing of new car technology platforms.
Why is Apple betting big on electric vehicles? Morgan Stanley has pointed out that historically, Apple has shown a strong latecomer advantage in MP3 players, tablets and smartphones. The bank also believes that the time humans spend in cars will surge in the future, from the current 600 billion hours per year to 750 billion hours in 2030, and nearly 1.2 trillion hours in 2040.