A new report from a Korean publisher MK claims that the Cupertino tech giant has decided to manufacturer its own autonomous electric vehicle (EV), Apple Car. After several failed negotiations with automakers, the tech giant has decided to assemble the EV itself.
Previously, reports corroborate this claim. So far, Apple has had talks with Hyundai Motors/ Kia, Nissan, BMW, Honda, LG and Magna, Stellantis, and Foxconn. On the company’s recent visit to South Asia, it was reported that Apple talked to Japanese Toyota Motors for Apple Car manufacturing. Likely the negotiations were not successful, and the tech giant has ditched the idea of joint development and contract production of Apple Car, completely.
Apple Car might be manufactured at Apple’s own automobile research center
As per the report, Apple owns an automobile research center and the company is about to finalize the supply chain.
According to a local source familiar with Apple on the 8th (local time), Apple sent a Request For Quotation (RFQ) to global auto parts makers while restoring a lab for vehicle development that had virtually stopped. The request for quotation is a document sent after the RFI and the Request for Proposal (RFP), and it is a message that the final parts supplier will be selected soon.
The reason for turning to direct development was to deter the delay of Apple Car’s launch beyond 2024. To capture a decent market share, Apple wants to introduce its EV in the next 2 to 3 years. The report states:
The reason why Apple resigned from its joint development strategy with automakers and changed its strategy to direct development is believed to be because discussions with automakers have been put on hold one after another.
The alleged Apple EV will be powered by a new revolutionary monocell battery, will be equipped with multiple LiDAR scanners for navigation, and is expected to launch by 2025-2027.
