(Reuters) – Apple Inc. is moving forward with self-driving car technology and aims for 2024 to introduce a passenger vehicle that could potentially incorporate the battery technology his own bankruptcy, people familiar with the case told Reuters.
The automation efforts of an iPhone maker, called Project Titan, have gone on unabated since 2014 when it first started designing its own vehicle from scratch. At one point, Apple withdrew its attempt to focus on software and reassessed its goals. Doug Field, a former Apple veteran who had worked for Tesla Inc, returned to oversee the project in 2018 and fired 190 members of the team in 2019.
Since then, Apple has made enough progress that it now aims to build a vehicle for consumers, said two people familiar with the effort, wanting not to be named because Apple’s plans don’t public. Apple’s goal is to build a personal vehicle for the mass market compared to competitors like Waybet Alphabet Inc., which has built robo-taxis to carry passengers for driverless riding service.
At the heart of Apple’s strategy is a new battery design that could “radically” reduce the cost of batteries and increase the range of the vehicle, according to a third person who saw Apple’s battery design.
Apple declined to comment on its plans or future results.
Making a vehicle represents a supply chain challenge even for Apple, a company with deep pockets that makes hundreds of millions of electronic products each year with parts from all over the world, but a car that has not made its own. -ever. He gave Tesla 17 years at Elon Musk before he finally turned into a profitable car maker.
“If there is one company on the planet that has the resources to do that, it could be Apple. But at the same time, it’s not a cell phone, ”said someone working on Project Titan.
It is unclear who would collect an Apple-branded car, but sources have said they expect the company to rely on a manufacturing partner to build vehicles. And there’s still a chance that Apple decided to reduce the scope of its efforts to an automated driving system that would be integrated with a car made by a traditional automaker, rather than the iPhone maker selling a car with Apple brand, one of the people added.
Two people familiar with Apple ‘s plans warned that a pandemic – related delay could push the start of production to 2025 or beyond.
Apple has decided to tap outside partners for elements of the system, including lidar sensors, that will help self-driving cars to get a three-dimensional view of the road, said two familiar with the company’s plans.
An Apple car may have several lidar sensors for scanning different distances, another said. Some sensors could come from lidar units developed within Apple, that person said. Apple’s Apple 12 Pro and iPad Pro models released this year both feature lidar sensors.
Reuters had previously reported that Apple had held talks with potential lidar suppliers, but they were also investigating building its own sensor.
As for the car’s battery, Apple plans to use a special “monocell” design that compresses the individual cells in the battery and frees up space inside the battery pack by eliminating bumps. and models that hold battery products, one said.
Apple’s design means more functional material can be packaged inside the battery, giving a potentially longer range. Apple is also studying chemistry for the battery called LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, the individual said, which is almost as prone to overheating and therefore safer than other types of lithium- ion.
“It’s the next step,” said the man about Apple’s battery technology. “Like the first time you saw the iPhone. ”
Apple had engaged Magna International Inc. in talks about car manufacturing, but the talks turned out as Apple’s plans became unclear, said someone familiar with the previous efforts . Magna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
To turn a profit, car contract makers often want books that can be a challenge even for Apple, which would be a newcomer to the car market.
“To have a sustainable collection center, you need 100,000 vehicles a year, with more to come,” said the man.
Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; and Paul Lienert and Ben Klayman in Detroit; edited by Jonathan Weber and Edward Tobin