Apple Rumored At Work On Titan EV Project
Not about to let Google or Tesla tackle the automotive space without competition, Apple is rumored to be entering the game with its own EV project.
Autoblog reports the project, dubbed Project Titan, is an EV resembling a minivan, and has several hundred Apple employees working to make the vehicle a reality. Vice president of product design and former Ford engineer Steve Zadesky is said to be leading the project, while director of Mac systems engineering and former Mercedes-Benz R&D chief Johann Jungwirth is contributing his knowledge. Austrian supplier Magna Steyr has also been tapped by Apple execs to help guide the project along.
News of the rumored EV comes amid other rumors regarding the company’s poaching missions to Tesla — who allegedly have done the same to Apple in return — as well its desire to enter the autonomous vehicle market to one-up Google down the road.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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Just can't see it happening. I know that Apple has more liquid cash that most countries and a market cap that is closer to the the GDP of small developing nations, but simply no way. Apple is all about making profit. Fat stacks of obscene profits. Unless they are planning to be a luxury niche player and that's it - this won't produce fast stacks of crazy profit - and will require billions in R&D. I just don't see it happening. POC? Sure. Working on subsystems outside of the obvious infotainment and telemetry to license to OEMs? Kind of goes outside their model of control everything but possible. Whole cars? Just don't see it, and I don't see the average shareholder rewarding them if they go this path.
It's just Apple's version of streetview that every one is seeing. One analyst( That historically is always wrong) speculated that Apple was working on a car and everyone is running with it.
Long time Apple owner here... I think its a little of what SpinnyD said plus a little of what Luke42 said. Apple wants to OWN the dashboard space. That means: music, mapping, dinner reservations, speech to text, etc. As mentioned by APaGttH Apple is about profits and everyone knows cars (vehicle manufacturing) is low end stuff unless your making a Tesla-like product. And given Apple's cash hoard they could just BUY Tesla if they really wanted into the auto game. Maybe that is why they are stealing Tesla's engineers... to learn how Tesla works from the inside. However my guess is Apple is trying to become a supplier to the auto industry. Selling both hardware and software. Think Cummins Diesel or Bose. You go to Brand X car dealer (Ford, Chevy, Audi, whatever) and one of the available options is the (expensive) "Apple Package" which consists of various Jonny Ive approved Apple add-ons. Starting with simple things like an Apple Radio but moving all the way up (in due time) to the Apple Hybrid Battery Pack or Siri AutoDrive option. Maybe even full Apple Leather Dash kits. Lots of possibilities here. Now let's think... who else has Apple gobbled up recently? Beats! So how about a Beats/Apple sound system... tuned by Dre with a Jonny Ive interface? Hmmmm Sounds exclusive and expensive. Right up Apple's alley.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Titan project is nothing more than a radio transducer emulator to replace your car key fob with an Apple Watch or iPhone. Then there would be one less thing for you to carry around. The benefit for Apple is further locking you in to their ecosystem, and possible incorporation of more advanced Car Play features like customized map routes.