The tech major’s plan is believed to be “fluid” and will be based on readying its fully autonomous system on time
Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. (Credit: Noah_Loverbear/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Apple is reportedly speeding up its plans to foray into the car market with a target to bring a fully self-driving electric car to the market in 2025.
The tech major’s new project leader Kevin Lynch wants the first car model itself to drive itself, reported Bloomberg, citing undisclosed sources.
The report claimed that some of the people onboard the project were doubtful regarding the timeline despite recent progress made by the company on aspects such as the self-driving system of the car, processor chips, as well as advanced sensors.
The interior of the car will be designed for hands-off driving. One of the potential designs has passengers sitting around a U-shaped seating style.
As per the publication, the plan is believed to be “fluid”. It will depend on Apple readying its fully autonomous system on time.
The tech major is supposed to have completed much of the key work on the self-driving car’s processor.
It has also been suggested that the company had an “ideal” interior in place which plans for a lounge-like seating arrangement for passengers, a touchscreen infotainment system in the centre, while having no steering wheel or pedals.
The sources also told the publication that an emergency takeover mode has been discussed as well for the self-driving car.
Apple did not confirm the details put up by the publication though. The company’s plans to develop a self-driving car under Project Titan were reported in the media in 2015.
In mid-2021, reports surfaced that Apple had started talks with Chinese companies Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and BYD for sourcing batteries for its planned electric vehicles (EVs).
Before that, in late 2020, a report from Reuters suggested that Apple was mulling a possible launch of its self-driving vehicle in 2024.