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Apple Car Delayed Until 2026, Self-Driving Plans Scaled Back

California-based tech giant Apple is pulling back on its plans to launch a fully autonomous vehicle, and will instead seek to launch a more traditional all-electric car with some semi-autonomous capabilities around the 2026 calendar year.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, which cites anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the iPhone maker scaled back on its vision of producing a fully autonomous vehicle in the face of technology constraints and massive investments into research and development. It’s estimated that Apple is spending upwards of $1 billion per year on its car project.

Dubbed internally as project “Titan,” the Apple car project has been in the works for roughly a decade now. Although the tech giant has opted to keep a lid on the project, it’s estimated that roughly 1,000 employees are currently assigned to Titan, with employees split across campuses in California, Arizona, Ottawa, and Zurich.

The Titan team includes a number of individuals from prominent automakers, including Tesla, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ford. Vehicle testing is reportedly ongoing at a former Chrysler track near Phoenix codenamed “Sahara,” while the various driving systems are now running on Lexus SUV test vehicles (codenamed “Baja” vehicles) in a number of U.S. states. Looking forward, Apple is expected to consolidate its car teams at a new campus near the San Jose airport in California.

Although Apple originally sought to create a fully autonomous, all-electric vehicle capable of transporting passengers without a driver, the company will now seek to create a more traditional all-electric vehicle with a driver’s seat, steering wheel, and pedals. The new proposed vehicle will still support some semi-autonomous capabilities, but these will likely be relegated to highway driving, similar to the GM Super Cruise system.

Cruise Origin concept art

Cruise Origin concept art

Meanwhile, GM’s autonomous vehicle division, Cruise, recently announced that it is seeking to test the fully autonomous Cruise Origin robotaxi on the streets of San Francisco. Cruise is currently testing its autonomous tech via a fleet of upgraded Chevy Bolt EVs, which, unlike the Cruise Origin, are equipped with a steering wheel and a pedal. Cruise began offering fully autonomous rides in its fleet of Bolts this past June.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. Apple has several potential advantages over a traditional EV maker. They know how to make technology efficient, which would increase miles per kw. They also know user interface and interaction based on billions of customers. The EV is essentially a massive computer on wheels. With that size, Apple can utilize more computing power to create an experience that laptops and desktops are incapable of matching.

    Reply
  2. I’m an Apple fanboy, probably even an Apple shill, but I would be mortified to buy and drive one of these things around. Everyone would be thinking the same thing when they see someone driving one of these. Pretentious. Doesn’t know any better. Money waster.

    Tesla fanboys are bad, maybe even worse than vegans, but both those wouldn’t hold a candle to an Apple Car driver.

    Reply
    1. I think you mean, Apple Car “rider”….. 😉

      Reply
  3. EVs are not Apple core business and never likely to be. As such, Apple should permanently end its EV dalliance.

    Also, Apple would be hard-pressed to become a big name in AVs. Yes, it’s closer to their core business but likely not enough.

    Reply
  4. $1B a year and they aren’t even making cars yet??

    Reply

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