Apple cancels its car project

For over ten years, Apple worked on an electric car under the code name "Project Titan". Now the tech giant is apparently cancelling the exercise. This is reported by Mark Gurman from "Bloomberg", citing employees.

Apple's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and project manager Kevin Lynch officially announced the decision internally on Tuesday. The news came as a surprise to the workforce. The team of around 2,000 people will be dissolved. However, according to Bloomberg, many of them will continue to work at Apple in the future, including on artificial intelligence (AI).

The end of the car project is a rare turnaround for Apple. The company had reportedly already invested over 10 billion US dollars in the development. Over the years, Apple changed the goal of the project several times. Initially, the vision was a self-driving car of level 4 or 5 - i.e. fully automated or even completely autonomous driving. However, the development of this technology is progressing more slowly than expected across the industry.

In the last version of the project, the Apple car should instead have been a budget version of the original idea. With level 2 driving assistance, which corresponds to the current standard of other manufacturers. However, according to Mark Gurman, Apple recently had to postpone this variant again. The last plan did not envisage a market launch until 2028. The decision to cancel the project was finally made at the beginning of February.

It seems that Apple has come to the conclusion that the car market is not worth the risk and investment. Margins are thin and the regulations are complex. Instead, resources are likely to be increasingly channelled into the development of AI. Apple has been cautious in this field so far. But according to rumours, the Californians are starting to catch up. Apple is expected to enter the generative AI market this summer.

Withdrawing from car development is also associated with risks for Apple in the long term. It clears the way for other tech giants such as Google, which could attract customers to its own ecosystem with its own car. Apple now appears to be focussing fully on software integration in collaboration with car manufacturers. The new Apple Car Play will be introduced in several brands this year. It no longer just covers the centre console, but the entire infotainment system including the instrument display.