Photographer: Brent Lewin / Bloomberg
Photographer: Brent Lewin / Bloomberg
Apple Inc. plans to build a consumer self-driving car and aims to produce the vehicle by 2024, Reuters reported on Monday.
The company is developing its own battery technology that could lower the cost of power packs and increase the vehicle’s range, Reuters said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.
Apple is using third-party partners for elements of the system, including lidar sensors that provide autonomous cars with a real-time 3D view of the world, Reuters added. Apple is also developing its own lidar technology.
There is still a chance that Apple will decide to limit the scope of its efforts to an autonomous driving system that would integrate with a car from a traditional automaker, Reuters reported, noting that it is not clear which manufacturer would build it for Apple. .
Apple has been working on self-driving car technology since 2014, but scaled back its ambitions from a full-fledged vehicle in 2017, Bloomberg News reports. Since then, Apple has been working on the underlying autonomous system. The company has decided to pair this system with its own car or existing vehicles or to partner with an established automaker, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.
Read more: Apple shifts leadership from self-driving car unit to AI Chief