[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Apple is expected to release a fully autonomous electric vehicle as early as 2025.
On the 18th (local time), Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Apple is accelerating the development of an electric vehicle focused on full autonomy.
Apple has been operating a special project team called "Project Titan," which promotes the so-called "Apple Car" business, since 2014. Over the past few years, this team has simultaneously explored limited autonomous vehicle models focused on steering and acceleration, as well as fully autonomous versions that require no human operation at all.
According to sources, Apple has decided to focus on the fully autonomous option under the leadership of Kevin Lynch, an Apple Watch software executive who is the new head of Project Titan.
Doug Field, who previously led the team, moved to Ford in September.
In particular, Apple recently reached a major milestone in developing semiconductors to support the autonomous driving system, a source said. It appears that a significant portion of the core work on developing the processor to be installed in the Apple Car has been completed.
This Apple Car chip was designed by the "Apple Silicon" development team, which creates processors used in iPhones and Macs, and coordination with autonomous driving software has already been carried out.
The chip mainly consists of a neural processor that handles artificial intelligence (AI) governing autonomous driving.
Accordingly, Apple is expected to soon begin road testing. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Apple owns 69 Lexus sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for autonomous driving experiments.
Apple has internally advanced its development schedule, which was originally set for 5 to 7 years later, aiming to launch an autonomous vehicle in 2025, four years from now. However, the schedule remains fluid, and if the goal is not met, the launch may be delayed or an electric vehicle with insufficient autonomous driving capabilities may be released, the report added.
On the other hand, if the goal is achieved, the Apple Car is expected to have no steering wheel or pedals, and the vehicle interior will be designed accordingly. However, there has also been discussion about equipping a mode that allows the driver to control the vehicle in emergencies.
One of the options Apple has discussed is a limousine-style vehicle where passengers sit facing each other on seats along both sides of the car.
Additionally, a large iPad-like touchscreen infotainment system installed in the center of the vehicle has been considered, allowing passengers to interact through it.
This car will be closely integrated with Apple's existing devices and services, such as the iPhone.
Since Apple is inexperienced in automobile manufacturing, it is expected to partner with other companies to produce the autonomous electric vehicle. At one point, production cooperation with Hyundai Motor Company was discussed but later discontinued.
Apple did not comment on the report.
Bloomberg pointed out that full autonomy has become a "holy grail" in the automotive industry that is difficult to achieve in just a few years.
At one time, not only automakers but also major information technology (IT) companies such as Google, Tesla, and Uber entered the fierce technology development competition, presenting blueprints and goals that autonomous vehicles could be commercialized as early as 2020. However, it has proven that there is still a long way to go to achieve full autonomy.
Bloomberg also reported that there are people within Project Titan who are skeptical about the 2025 development schedule.
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