Bloomberg also reports that this Apple EV won’t be fully autonomous. Instead, drivers will alledgedly only be able to activate the self-driving features on highways, similar to the Level 2+ features in the BMW i7 or in the GM’s Super Cruise and Ford’s BlueCruise. Initially it was believed that Apple wanted to offer a vehicle with “Level 5” autonomy.

The rumormill further churns out that the Apple Car would use a technology system codenamed Denali powered by a processor that’s “about four of Apple’s highest-end Mac chips combined,” according to Bloomberg. The same outlet says that the chip is believed to have reached an advanced state of development.

Over the years, the ‌Apple Car‌ team has also gone through several leadership changes and Project Titan has been delayed several times.

[Source: Bloomberg]

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It was an even worse situation for Kia, which shares had initially boomed after rumors about building the Apple Car in Georgia, plummeted by 15 percent, resulting in a $5.5 billion off its market value. A recent report stated Kia would start production of the fully electric car as early as 2024 for a vehicle rumored to ride on the E-GMP platform developed by Hyundai and Kia. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case.

Written in black and white is the following statement: “We are not having talks with Apple on developing autonomous vehicles.” According to Automotive News, Hyundai and Kia jointly announced this important news “in compliance with stock market rules requiring regular updates to investors regarding market rumors.”

If Apple still doesn’t have a partner to put an EV on the market, it can only mean the iPhone maker will not be coming out with the car before the middle of the decade. Developing a car takes a lot of work and the logistics involved in regards to finding a factory and the necessary production capacity are time-consuming, so we wouldn’t hold our breath for an Apple Car before 2025.

Another tech giant, Sony, has already unveiled the Vision-S electric sedan as a functional prototype, but the company behind the PlayStation has repeatedly said there aren’t any plans for a production version. Perhaps Sony is fully aware of the hurdles it would have to face with launching a road-going model and thinks it’s simply not worth the effort. The Vision-S is more of a tech demonstrator, meaning Sony could end up selling some of the goodies installed on the prototype to third-parties.

Source: Automotive News

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According to Automotive News Europe, Apple is not exactly thrilled with reports appearing in the media about the potential EV. That makes sense considering the Cupertino-based company is known to maintain its development projects top secret, and it goes without saying the tech giant wants to keep its first car on the hush-hush.

The report doesn’t say whether there are plans to restart discussions, especially since the problems extend beyond Apple being upset with insider details leaking onto the Internet. Automotive News Europe cites “people familiar with the situation” claiming the Hyundai Group hasn’t decided whether the main brand Hyundai or the smaller Kia marque should build the much-hyped Apple Car.

It is believed Kia is in pole position to manufacturer the EV, which is rumored to offer an advanced autonomous driving system. Some say the Apple Car would be built in North America, specifically at Kia’s plant in Georgia where the Sorento, Telluride, and K5 are currently assembled. Local reports from South Korea have suggested Apple could invest as much as the equivalent of $3.6 billion in Kia to make the Apple Car a reality.

Even if Apple and Hyundai/Kia will reach an agreement, it will take at least 3-4 years until the production car is going to be launched. The E-GMP platform debuting this year with the Ioniq 5 could serve as a foundation for the Apple Car, which could be produced in around 100,000 examples by the middle of the decade.

As previously reported, Kia’s shares jumped by as much as 14.5 percent shortly after Korean news site Dong-A Ilbo wrote about Apple’s possible investment. The automaker’s shares reached the highest level since 1997, even though neither Kia nor Apple officially confirmed the tie-up.

Source: Automotive News Europe

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It is believed the deal will be signed as early as February 17, with the electric vehicle set to enter production in 2024. Apple and Kia apparently want to build cars in Georgia, United States where the K5 midsize sedan is currently built alongside the Sorento and Telluride large SUVs. The factory currently has a production capacity of 340,000 vehicles a year, but that could grow around the middle of the decade as the deal between the automotive and tech giants reportedly includes an annual output of 100,000 EVs.

Shortly after Dong-A Ilbo’s article was published, Kia shares rose by as much as 14.5 percent to the highest level since 1997. That’s despite the fact representatives from both companies declined to comment about the potential tie-up. It is believed Apple’s EV is still in an early development stage and it might use the E-GMP platform debuting this year on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the upcoming Kia CV and Genesis GV60.

Being an electric vehicle in its infancy, it will take a while before the Apple Car will hit the streets. With Kia’s support, the Cupertino-based company can speed up development, but the EV is unlikely to be ready for at least several years from now. Another tech giant, Sony, has also been working on an electric vehicle of its own, but the PlayStation maker is adamant the Vision-S sedan concept will not be going into production.

Developing an electric car from the ground up is a major undertaking, hence why Apple is looking for a partner. Manufacturing vehicles is a separate story, requiring massive investments in a factory and tooling. It makes sense why Apple is actively trying to find a partner that knows its way around developing and building an EV and has the proper tools to make it happen.

Source: Dong-A Ilbo via Automotive News

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Despite the fact Hyundai initially confirmed in a statement to CNBC it’s negotiating with Apple, Bloomberg says the automaker has already updated its statement not once, but twice. The official word right now is Hyundai has received “requests for potential cooperation from various companies regarding development of autonomous EVs. No decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage.”

The initial statement made by Hyundai acknowledged the South Korean brand is one of the several automakers Apple had been in contact with for an electric car project. Only half an hour later, the reference to other car companies was deleted. A few hours later, the statement was revised yet again to delete the Apple reference altogether.

Even these brief references of a potential tie-up between Hyundai and the American tech giant were enough to boost the automaker’s market value today by a whopping $8 billion. Shares went up by 18% this Friday in light of the possibility of a collaboration between the two parties, which even if it’s going to happen, the Apple Car is still far away.

People familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg News the Apple Car is still in the early development stage and it’ll take at least five years to launch the autonomous EV. It likely means Apple is not in a hurry to find a partner to manufacture its driverless, zero-emissions car.

The iPhone maker isn’t the only tech giant interested in cars as Sony took everyone by surprise at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show with the unveiling of the Vision-S concept car. The sleek electric sedan has since evolved to the prototype stage, but the company behind the PlayStation gaming console remains mum about the possibility of a production car.

Note: Attached photo shows the electric Hyundai 45 concept.

Source: Korea Economic Daily, CNBC, Bloomberg

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According to this report from Reuters, whose sources are two unnamed people close to the Apple Car project, the project is again underway and it will debut a new type of battery technology that will change the game.

”It’s next level,” said one of Reuters’ sources. “Like the first time you saw the iPhone.”

That’s a massive statement, considering the iPhone not only changed the automotive market, it changed the world. Could Apple really have such a battery technology, one that current automotive giants haven’t already figured out? While that’s not likely, we wouldn’t put it past Apple. Changing the world is sort of what it does.

Apparently, its battery tech ditches individual battery cells in the pack, in something Apple calls “monocell”, which ups the density of the battery while also reducing size and weight. Also, Apple is said to be working on lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, rather than traditional lithium-ion batteries, which are less susceptible to overheating, thus potentially allowing them to charge faster.

Regardless of whatever Apple’s new technologies might be, it’s still going to run into the same old hurdle — manufacturing. There’s no doubt Apple could design a car and it’d be brilliant, even game-changing. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is getting it made, putting it through countless regulatory tests and getting it on the road. There are enormous logistical and financial hurdles to overcome before manufacturing even begins. While Apple could likely do it, profitability comes into question.

At the moment, Apple is one of the largest manufacturers in the world, so it’s not like the iPhone brand isn’t used to making stuff. But Apple also sees big, fat profit margins on its products, something it wouldn’t have on a car. So investing all of that time and money might actually be quite difficult to profit on.

There’s talk that Apple could outsource manufacturing to the third-party but that’s still up in the air. It’d make sense, and it’s said that Apple did reach out to Magna, but nothing is official thus far.

If Apple does debut a car, and it’s as brilliant as sources close to the project say, it could end up changing the game. That seems like a big if but no other technology company has changed how we communicate with each other more than Apple. So we wouldn’t bet against it.

[Source: Reuters]

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