Abandoning Fully Autonomous Driving Without Steering Wheel and Pedals
Sales Price Also Reduced to $100,000
[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Apple has scaled back its plans for fully autonomous vehicles and postponed the target launch date by one year to 2026.
Bloomberg News reported on the 6th (local time), citing sources, that the fully autonomous electric vehicle project team known as 'Project Titan,' which is referred to as the 'Apple Car,' is undergoing significant changes.
The news agency stated that the originally targeted fully autonomous version (Level 5) without a steering wheel and pedals was deemed unlikely to be technically feasible, and the project has decided to pivot towards reducing the level of autonomous driving functionality. Currently, Tesla, a U.S. automaker considered the most advanced in autonomous driving technology among global manufacturers, offers its driving assistance system 'Autopilot' at about Level 2 out of 0 to 5 levels.
An anonymous insider said, "Development is underway on a version that includes a steering wheel and pedals and is limited to fully autonomous driving only on highways." Additionally, a manual mode switch function will be installed to allow the driver to take control of the vehicle in emergencies such as severe weather during urban driving.
The internal launch schedule, initially set for 2025, has also been postponed by one year. Apple is currently in the prototype production stage, aiming to complete the design by next year and functionality by 2024. After product testing in 2025, the launch is planned for 2026.
The expected selling price, initially estimated at a minimum of $120,000 (approximately 160 million KRW) per unit, has also been lowered to under $100,000 (approximately 130 million KRW), according to sources. The $100,000 price point is comparable to Tesla’s entry-level Model S and Mercedes-Benz’s EQS.
Apple’s secretive Apple Car project, launched in 2014, has faced development difficulties over eight years due to internal conflicts regarding the departure of key personnel and the maturity of autonomous driving technology.
Many core developers have also been replaced. Currently, the Apple Car design is led by veteran experts including Ulrich Kranz, former CEO of the U.S. electric vehicle startup Canoo, as well as professionals with experience at Tesla, Lamborghini, and Porsche. The software head is Stuart Bowers, who served as Vice President of Software Engineering at Tesla, and the testing and safety lead is Desi Uka?evi?, a 31-year veteran from Ford Motor Company.
The Apple Car project team, consisting of about 1,000 employees, is distributed across Sunnyvale, California; Ottawa, Canada; and Zurich, Switzerland. Engineering work, industrial design, and software development are conducted in Sunnyvale, while the operating system (OS), which acts as the vehicle’s brain, is being developed in Ottawa.
The news agency evaluated, "The Apple Car project could become another revenue source for Apple, the iPhone manufacturer, or it could test the limits of Apple as an IT company that makes smartphones." It expressed concerns that Apple’s entry into this market could be a reckless challenge, given that global automakers, the originators of autonomous driving technology, are pouring massive investments and development capabilities into it.
For this reason, some in the industry have speculated that, just as Taiwan’s Foxconn has been contracted to produce iPhones, the Apple Car might be produced under contract by existing automakers. Automakers reportedly exploring production partnerships with Apple Car include Hyundai Motor Company, Nissan, and Volkswagen.
Following the news of the Apple Car development delay, Apple’s stock, listed on the U.S. Nasdaq market, showed a sharp intraday decline and closed down 2.54% at $142.91. Apple’s stock has fallen more than 19% so far this year.
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