Apple car won’t be ready for at least half a decade

Rumors of Apple’s work on an autonomous car have picked up in recent weeks, but the project is still in its early stages and it will be years before an Apple Car launches, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

Sources with knowledge of Apple’s product plans recounted Bloomberg that it will take “at least half a decade” for Apple to launch an autonomous electric vehicle.

Apple has a small team of hardware engineers who work on drive systems, vehicle interiors, and external car designs for the purpose of shipping a vehicle to customers.

Apple’s car plans have changed several times over the years and just a few years ago there were rumors that Apple had decided to forgo development of a complete car and instead focused on a driving system. stand-alone that could perhaps be supplied to other car manufacturers.

As development continues, Apple is once again focusing on the more ambitious goal of creating an entire vehicle. The automotive team aims to create an autonomous vehicle that would allow a user to enter their destination and be driven there with “little or no other commitment.”

The car is “far from production” and could be ready in five to seven years, although timelines could change. Apple is also continuing the search for an autonomous car system for a third-party partner, so the company could still choose to end development of its own car.

Apple Car employees are currently working from home or spending little time in the office, apparently slowing down work on the vehicle project. Apple has a wide range of automotive experts working on the project, as reported by Bloomberg.

This includes former Tesla Vice President of Interior Design Steve MacManus, autonomous driving safety expert and former Waymo employee Jaime Waydo, and former Tesla Vice President Michael Schwekutsch, who worked on engines and transmissions. Apple recently picked Jonathan Sive, a BMW automotive engineer who also worked at Tesla and Waymo, and Stuart Bowers, another former Tesla vice president.

Vehicle-related jobs suggest Apple’s hiring is on the rise as the Cupertino-based company seeks employees with expertise in wireless communications, LED lighting, high voltage battery systems, and more.

A recent report by Reuters suggested that Apple aims to launch a car in 2024, but that timeline looks ambitious based on new information from Bloomberg. Reuters said Apple is developing a new battery design that will cut costs and increase range, and will also work with auto supply companies.

Another report says Apple is designing a custom chip for the “ Apple Car ” that TSMC will manufacture, and Bloomberg confirms that Johny Srouji’s team is developing a custom Arm-based chip with a focus on machine learning processing to run the autonomous car system.

Apple will likely use a manufacturing partner to build the vehicles, but it’s still unclear which company might make a deal with Apple. Rumors from 2016 indicated that Apple was in talks with Magna International, but the talks ended because Apple’s plans at the time were unclear.