Apple canceled the Apple Car project , its initiative to build an electric car. A decade after it began, Project Titan ceased to exist with the aim of focusing on other strategic areas of the company. The technology giant notified over 2,000 employees who will be relocated to the artificial intelligence area.
According to a Bloomberg report , Apple held a meeting with Special Projects Group (SPG) employees to communicate the news. Jeff Williams, director of operations, and Kevin Lynch, director of technology and head of the project, told their workers that Project Titan will end . The decision would be due to a change in strategy where those from Cupertino will focus on artificial intelligence.
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According to sources close to the project, the death of the Apple Car was a topic of discussion among the company’s senior executives. In recent days, the company made the decision to cancel it after analyzing the viability of the project. The high development cost, added to the estimated price of $120,000 , represented a risk for the Cupertino company.
A few weeks ago it became known that Apple readjusted the plan and delayed the launch of the Apple Car to 2028 . Engineers were unconvinced about finishing it before 2026 and agreed to reduce one of its most important features: autonomous driving. In a meeting with Tim Cook, Kevin Lynch and his engineers determined that the car would be offered with Level 2+ technology , which allowed it to stay in lane autonomously.
The idea of a 100% autonomous Apple Car, without a steering wheel or pedals, remains confined to science fiction movies. The company would focus on a realistic goal : an electric car powered by Apple chips, capable of driving itself on the road while the user enjoys a movie or video game.
Apple Car: Apple’s Most Ambitious Project In Years
The first signs of the Apple Car emerged in 2015, when reports pointed to an electric car project that would compete with Tesla and Google. The Wall Street Journal mentioned that Apple had hundreds of employees working on a minivan-style vehicle.
Apple executives met with some component manufacturers, while its industrial design team was in charge of the first sketches. During that year, those from Cupertino closed agreements with companies and experts in autonomous driving. The goal was to launch an electric prototype in 2019, although it would not arrive with all the functions.
The Apple Car suffered its first blow in 2016 , when Steve Zadesky, leader of the secret project, left the company. Zadesky took the reins of Project Titan in 2013, drawing on his experience as a mechanical engineer at Ford. Months later, Apple brought back Bob Mansfield and Doug Field , who left Tesla to lead Apple’s self-driving car project.
After a year of secrecy, the first car with Apple’s autonomous driving technology began to circulate in Silicon Valley. A Lexus RX450h, equipped with sensors, cameras and radars , obtained permission from the California Department of Transportation to operate on the streets. The Apple Car was alive and analysts were predicting its imminent launch.
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Hyundai, GM, Nissan And Rumors Of An Alliance
One of the most significant moments in the history of Project Titan happened in early 2021, when reports surfaced that Apple was in talks with Hyundai-KIA to manufacture the Apple Car. According to CNBC , the South Korean would sign an agreement to develop an electric car and rechargeable batteries, however, Hyundai denied the information.
Subsequently, Chung Eui-sun, CEO of Hyundai Motor Group, opened the door to a completely autonomous car, announcing that the first version would be designed to not have a driver.
Despite the initial noise, negotiations with Hyundai fell apart and Apple Car would have to look for a new partner. Rumors pointed to Nissan , however, the Japanese clarified that it had no intentions of manufacturing a car under a methodology different from the one they use. In the end, Apple slammed the table and left behind the idea of partnering with a giant in the automotive industry.
After years of uncertainty, Apple has canceled one of its most ambitious projects . The current economic outlook and the uncertainty experienced in the automotive industry could have driven the decision. Added to this is the interest in artificial intelligence , a segment that has grown significantly in the last two years.
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