Tim Cook at the Apple Event
Source: Apple
A closely watched Apple analyst warns that investors should be wary of a report that the iPhone maker plans to produce a self – driving car in 2024.
A report last week by Reuters sent shares of companies building parts for autonomous cars, such as lidar sensors, soaring high. But the hype had just profited that some of these companies might offer parts for an Apple car, TFI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo warned in a note this weekend.
Kuo has built a reputation for accurately reflecting Apple’s product launch plans, and is closely following Apple’s supply chain.
“We believe that the so-called Apple car concept stocks are only profiteering with the market and do not include real Apple car suppliers,” Kuo said. “We also think that, as the technical specs of the EV / self-driving car are still evolving, it’s too early to talk about the final specs of the Apple car.”
Kuo said the market for Apple cars is “too bullish” and it would not be surprising if the Apple car does not launch until 2028 or later. 2025. is the earliest he thinks could hit the market. Kuo also suggested that Apple may be too far behind in artificial intelligence to launch a competitive self-driving car.
“If Apple’s car is to succeed in the future, the key success factor is big data / AI, not hardware,” he said. “One of our biggest concerns about Apple Research is 27 December 2020 2 Apple cars When the Apple car is launched, the standard self-driving car brands will have at least five years of big data collect and be helpful for deep learning / AI. is Apple, which is of late, getting over this narrowing gap? “
Apple has a big vision for keeping autos relatively quiet. But the company has been experimenting with self-driving technology for a few years now, and CEO Tim Cook has said he sees the technology as a way to feed Apple’s AI systems.
Other analysts have been just as skeptical as Kuo.
“Apple does R&D in many areas, and while it is no surprise to hear the media again talking about Project Titan for autos, we are very skeptical that Apple will bring out a car, as profits in the automotive sector are much lower, “Citi analyst Jim Suva wrote in a note last week.