Apple can be expected to shed some light on its highly secretive internal project called "Project Titan," a codename for its self-driving car sometime in the next 3-6 months, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Ives made the comments during a segment on CNBC Television, in which he reiterated Wedbush's belief that Apple will not actually release a consumer car until at least 2024. Ives says that even with a release years out, the company will need to release "some information" to "lay the groundwork for an Apple Car." Ives believes that Apple will open up publicly about its future car ambitions sometime this summer.
When pressed on the timeframe, Ives says that Apple needs to "find the partners" for its self-driving car, which concides with reports that the tech giant has been in talks to partner with several car manufacturers for the production of Apple Car.
Apple has reportedly been working on a self-driving car for the past number of years, and a flurry of reports in the past few months have further cemented the company's rumored car ambitions. The Apple Car, which Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says will not be released until at least 2023, is expected to be produced and manufactured by a third-party contractor but remain an Apple-branded product.
More recently, a report out of The Korea Times suggests that Apple is "very near" to signing a deal with LG and Magna to build the Apple Car.
Top Rated Comments
You can sell a mobile phone with high profits, because people can pay $300 extra for brand, aesthetics, etc. The absolute amount of extra money is tolerable.
People will be reluctant to pay $10000 extra for a car, because the amount of money needed is significant. I am not saying people would be too rational when buying a car, but the relatively large sums limit the demand of expensive cars.
The premium segment starts to be congested. Tesla S, M-B EQS, Porsche Taycan, Audi etron GT, Genesis G80 EV, maybe Lucid Air. The same applies to the EV SUV segment with ID.4, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Y, Ford Mach-E, Audi Q4 etron, Toyota bZ4, Polestar 2, etc. There is real competition, and new players have to adjust their prices accordingly.
All the cars mentioned above are expensive relative to the average selling price of new cars. If Apple tries to enter the mainstream market, it needs to produce a sub-$40k car. That is not very easy for a premium brand.