APPLE is thought to be working on building its own electric car to make a foray into car manufacturing – possibly a driverless car to rival Google.
According to the news agency Bloomberg Apple has put hundreds of employees to work on the secretive project, said an insider who asked not to be identified.
Steve Zadesky, vice president of iPhone product design, is reported to be leading the effort.
However, Apple often tests ideas that do not get released and the effort work may not lead to the company introducing an automobile, the informant added.
The project is code-named Titan and the vehicle design resembles a minivan, the Wall Street Journal reported. Some Apple executives have flown to Austria to meet with contract manufacturers of high-end cars, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, said in 2012 court testimony that executives discussed building a car even before it released the iPhone in 2007
Apple already has technology that may lend itself to an electric car and expertise managing a vast supply chain. The company has long researched battery technology for use in its iPhones, iPads and Macs. The mapping system it debuted in 2012 can be used for navigation. Last year, Apple also introduced CarPlay, a software system that integrates iTunes, mapping, messaging and other applications for use by automakers.
Apple has batted around the idea of developing a car for years. Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, said in 2012 court testimony that executives discussed building a car even before it released the iPhone in 2007. Mickey Drexler, an Apple board member and head of J Crew Group, also said in 2012 that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had wanted to build a car.
A representative of Apple, based in Cupertino, California, declined to comment. The Financial Times reported earlier Friday that Apple is hiring auto experts to work at a new research lab.
The electric car maker Tesla has hired at least 150 former Apple employees, more than from any other company, even carmakers.
“From a design philosophy, [Apple] is relatively closely aligned,” Elon Musk, Tesla’s co-founder and chief executive officer, recently told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview.
Musk also said Apple has been trying to poach employees from his Palo Alto, California-based company, offering $250,000 signing bonuses and 60% salary increases.
“Apple tries very hard to recruit from Tesla,” he said. “But so far they’ve actually recruited very few people.”
