Apple Dumps iCar Production Plans To Focus On Self Driving System For Automakers

Apple Inc. has drastically scaled back its automotive plans, leading to hundreds of job cuts and a new direction that, for now, no longer includes building its own car, according to people familiar with the project.

Hundreds of members of the car team, which comprises about 1,000 people, have been reassigned, let go, or have left of their own volition in recent months, the people said, asking not to be identified because the moves aren’t public.

New leadership of the initiative, known internally as Project Titan, has re-focused on developing an autonomous driving system that gives Apple flexibility to either partner with existing carmakers, or return to designing its own vehicle in the future, the people also said. Apple has kept staff numbers in the team steady by hiring people to help with the new focus, according to another person.

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Vette71 - 10/18/2016 10:36:46 AM

+1 Boost

Smart move. Building cars is a mature capital intensive business where competition is fierce, and will only get more so as China begins to export vehicles. The higher margin value added business is in the software and "owning the screen" that integrates seamlessly with all the other "screens" people use in their day to day lives. That is an Apple core competence that offers huge leverage, particularly as they partner with sensor companies and automakers to create the smart car with more and more driver aids.

PUGPROUD - 10/18/2016 10:56:58 AM

0 Boost

Cooler heads prevail!

TheSteve - 10/18/2016 2:41:06 PM

0 Boost

I find it immensely interesting that there was HUGE speculation and conjecture that Apple was designing an autonomous car. I was skeptical. The rumors persisted.

Then the speculation and conjecture said the alleged Apple autonomous car's delivery date had been delayed a few years. I was skeptical that an Apple autonomous car project even existed, yet the rumors persisted.

And now, the speculation and conjecture says the alleged Apple autonomous car project has been scrapped altogether.

So there you have it:

-- Steve believes Apple was never developing an Apple autonomous car, and the apparent current state supports that view.

-- Some believe Apple was secretly working on an autonomous car, then they ran into big delivery delays, and then they scrapped the secret project, and the apparent current state supports that view, too!

In the end, both Steve and the rumor mill agree: Right now, there is no Apple autonomous car project. The question is whether this alleged project ever existed or not.

qwertyfla - 10/18/2016 9:13:35 PM

0 Boost

RIP Fruit car!