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

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

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

Apple has a small team of hardware engineers who work on powertrain systems, vehicle interiors, and external car designs with the ultimate goal of shipping a vehicle to customers.

Apple’s car plans have shifted several times over the years, and just a few years ago, rumors indicated that Apple had decided to forgo development of a full car and instead focused on an autonomous driving system that might could be supplied to other car manufacturers.

As development progressed, Apple is refocusing on the more ambitious goal of making a full vehicle. The automotive team aims to create a self-driving vehicle that allows a user to enter their destination and drive there with “little or no other involvement”.

The car is “nowhere near the production stage” and could be ready in five to seven years, although the timelines may shift. Apple is also still pursuing a self-driving car system for a third-party partner, so the company could still choose to end development on its own car.

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

This includes former Tesla VP of interior design Steve MacManus, self-driving safety expert and former Waymo employee Jaime Waydo, and former Tesla VP Michael Schwekutsch, who worked on engines 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 openings suggest Apple’s hires are on the rise, with the Cupertino company looking for employees with expertise in wireless communications, LED lighting, high-voltage battery systems, and more.

A recent report from Reuters suggested Apple plans to launch a car in 2024, but that timeline sounds ambitious based on the new information from Bloomberg. Reuters said Apple is developing a new battery design that will reduce costs and increase range, and has also partnered with auto supply companies.

Another report indicated that Apple is designing a custom chip for the ‌Apple Car‌ that TSMC will produce, and Bloomberg confirms that Johny Srouji’s team is developing a custom Arm-based chip with an emphasis on machine learning processing to drive the self-driving car system.

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