Apple Car will not be ready for at least half a decade

Rumors of Apple’s work on an autonomous car have been circulating for the past few weeks, but the project is still in its early stages and it will take years before an Apple Car is launched, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

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

Apple has a small team of hardware engineers working on propulsion systems, vehicle interiors and external car designs with the goal of eventually sending a vehicle to customers.

Apple’s car plans have shifted several times over the years and just a few years ago, rumors said that Apple had decided to abandon the development of a full car and instead focus on an autonomous driving system that might provide other car manufacturers word.

As the development continued, Apple again focused on the more ambitious goal of creating an entire vehicle. The car team aims to create a self-driving vehicle that allows the user to enter their destination and drive there with ‘little or no other involvement’.

The car is not nearly in the production stage and it may be ready in five to seven years, although the timelines may shift. Apple is also still striving for a self-driving car system for a third-party partner, so the company may still decide to end its own car development.

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

These include former Tesla interior design director Steve MacManus, security expert and former Waymo employee Jaime Waydo, and former Tesla director Michael Schwekutsch, who worked on cars and transmissions. Apple recently picked up Jonathan Sive, a BMW vehicle engineer who also worked at Tesla and Waymo, and Stuart Bowers, another former Tesla vice president.

Vehicle-related job lists indicate that Apple’s jobs are on the rise, and the Cupertino company is looking for employees with expertise in wireless communications, LED lighting, high-voltage battery systems and more.

A recent report from Reuters proposed Apple plans to launch a car in 2024, but the timeline sounds ambitious based on new information from Bloomberg. Reuters said Apple is developing a new battery design that will reduce costs and scope, and also work with automakers.

Another report indicated that Apple was designing a custom chip for the ‘Apple Car’ that TSMC will manufacture, and Bloomberg confirms that the team of Johny Srouji is developing a custom chip on the arm that focuses on machine learning processing to drive the self-driving car system.

Apple is likely to use a manufacturing partner to build the vehicles, but it remains unclear which company could enter into an agreement with Apple. Rumors from 2016 indicate that Apple was in talks with Magna International, but the talks ended because Apple’s plans at the time were unclear.