Rumors of an Apple car have long excited geeks as well as automotive enthusiasts. While there’s no actual information on the product itself, there have been discussions on when such an Apple product could reach the masses. While the company has been working on its Project Titan for some years now, popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now says that such a product is at least 7-8 years away mostly due to an uncertainty factor in the product designing stage.
Kuo in his latest statement says in a 9To5Mac report that the market is “too bullish about the Apple Car” as a product. Hence, there will be a delay in the Apple Car project, mostly due to “uncertainty about the launch timing, uncertainty about the supplier and vehicle specs, and uncertainty around Apple’s competitiveness in the EV and self-driving car market,” says Kuo. As a result, its car could ideally launch by 2028, or at the earliest, by 2025.
Apple Car not coming anytime soon
Initially, Apple was supposed to reveal its first car in the time frame of 2023-2025. However, Kuo’s latest research states a delay in the project and if everything falls into place now, we could see the Apple Car earliest by 2025, and ideally by 2028. As you read, it is said that the specifications of the car yet being decided and it could at best finalized by 2025.
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The crucial aspects of the Apple Car will all about self-driving data and AI instead of the hardware. Hence, Kuo says that its first car, when launched, will be at least five years behind the likes of Waymo and Tesla, who themselves rely on deep learning algorithms to train their autonomous vehicle systems. Reports already suggest that Apple is working on a revolutionary monocell battery system as well as different in-car experience, particularly in the autonomy experience.
Of late, a lot of companies are doubling down on their EV efforts, including the big ones like Ford, BMW, Audi and more. Tesla is currently leading the race in the autonomy industry with ist advanced autopilot systems based on LiDAR systems. When Kuo says Apple is aiming for those revolutionary things in vehicle autonomy, it could truly hint at the next-tier systems whereon the car could possibly drive itself even within busy streets.
However, Kuo says that Apple might struggle in the initial phases given its past experiences. The company does not usually perform well when it comes to new businesses. He cites the HomePod as an example, that despite being in the market for some years now has failed to capture a significant share.
