To the surprise of some and the chagrin on Android fans everywhere, Apple’s next project – if rumours are believed to be true – involves the production of a motor vehicle.
The news comes via a Financial Times reports that indicates that the Cupertino company is hiring automotive experts to assist in an ‘off-campus’ research lab.
While the possibility that Apple might simply be working on enhancing or developing new components of it’s CarPlay system is likely, a report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple “already has several hundred employees working on an electric car project” – Codenamed Titan.
The report also pinpoints the head of the project as Steve Zedesky – a former Ford engineer who also was on the development team for the iPod and iPhone.
The news presents an interesting parallel to Google’s ongoing development of its self-driving cars, which are manufactured from Toyota and subsequently retrofitted.
It seems likely from the reports in question that were Apple to develop an automobile, it would manufacture the vehicle itself, rather than outsource production from a pre-existing company. Despite Apple’s lack of connection to the car industry, the company has – as of recently – refocussed its intent to prioritise the iOS experience in-vehicle through the CarPlay system.
The intent to create an Apple car, as noted by Wired, stretches back to the Jobs era. In an interview last year in January, at the Parsons The New School for Design, Apple board member Mickey Drexler commented, saying “œSteve Jobs, if he had lived, was gonna design an iCar “¦ I think what cars need is someone with a vision on design.“
While the unlikely leap from electronics manufacturing to automobile production might be a costly leap for Apple, it might not be without success. The company employs many former staff of the Tesla automotive marque, and rumors from this time last year – February 2014 – indicated Tesla CEO met with Apple executives to discuss a possible acquisition.
With rumours abounding and little confirmation from Apple leadership, we’ll deliver more on the story as it develops.
Follow Bryan on Twitter: @bryansmith1138
