Apple is boosting its efforts to make its first electric car ready by 2019. As big tech companies like Apple and Google prepare to enter the automotive industry, traditional car makers fear that they would turn into "mere hardware makers".
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is speeding up Project Titan, calling it the company's "committed project". After a year of feasibility studies, the Cupertino giant is aiming to have its first electric car rolling by 2016.
Apple is reportedly making the original 600-person team for the project triple, to have 1000+ people on board. Auto veterans and experts are being hired, with Apple even poaching Tesla employees.
According to inside sources, many Apple employees are being reassigned to work on Project Titan. There were also reports of Apple CEO Tim Cook meeting with car officials from California's Department of Motor Vehicles.
Forbes stated in a report that unlike Google's self-driving car, Apple's first electric car will not be fully automated. Although, Apple stated that it is not scrapping it off the list of the company's long-term goals. In contrast with Google who already unveiled its automatic cars, Apple is still keeping the wraps on its car project.
Google executive Sarah Hunter said that they are trying to figure out how to market the autonomous cars. She further added that the company will only be making a few hundred cars, not mass-producing them. This was supported by former Hyundai CEO and current head of Google's self-driving car project John Krafcik, who said that Google has no intentions of being a carmaker.
On the other hand, The Spectator reported that Apple intends to be a player in the automotive industry specializing in electric cars. Auto executives are challenged by the idea of new technology disrupting the traditional car industry.
The report further stated that Apple and Google have an edge over traditional carmakers like Volkswagen in terms of tech expertise, research and development strategies, and financial resources. Carmakers fear that they will turn into "mere hardware makers", helping either Apple or Google gain more profit.
Chief executive of Daimler Dieter Zetsche said, ""What is important for us is that the brain of the car, the operating system, is not iOS or Android or someone else, but it's our brain." He added that they do not plan to become contract manufacturers for the two tech giants.
Some experts say that Apple's plan of launching its first electric car in 2016 seems ambitious, but the Cupertino-based company is keeping a positive mindset. Apple's application of its hardware-software integration expertise may become the standard for creating next-generation cars.
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