Reports
suggest Apple employees are designing and building a car
 |
| Dozens of Apple employees are researching automotive products. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images |
Apple is
reportedly hiring automotive engineers to work at a top-secret lab in Silicon
Valley, fuelling rumours that the company may be designing a car.
Dozens of
Apple employees led by managers from its iPhone unit are researching automotive
products, according to the Financial Times. It reports that the company has
poached the head of Mercedes-Benz’s Silicon Valley research and development
unit, while Sir Jonathan Ive, senior vice-president of design at Apple, has
held regular meetings with automotive executives and engineers.
Designing
and building a car would mark a huge change of direction for the computer
maker, which researches and discards plenty of projects but has so far mainly
stuck to its core expertise in mobile and electronic devices.
Apple, much
like its closest rival Google, is trying to incorporate its software into cars.
It may be hiring extra staff to shore up its CarPlay project, which lets
drivers access contacts on their iPhones, make calls or listen to voicemails
without taking their hands off the steering wheel. But the background and
seniority of the executives it is recruiting have prompted speculation that
Apple may be trying to move into car design.
The Wall Street Journal reports that sources with knowledge of the company say it is
working on an electric car. The newspaper quotes one person as saying a vehicle
that looks like a minivan has been designed.
Apple
commentator Bryan Chaffin, of the Mac Observer website, speculated earlier this
month that Apple had entered a hiring war with electric car maker Tesla,
recruiting staff with an expertise in cars.
“Three
months ago, I would have said it was CarPlay,” the FT quoted a person who has
worked closely with Apple for many years as saying. “Today, I think it’s a
car.”
It is
unlikely that any resulting product would be released soon because the research
lab was only set up late last year and Apple lacks a manufacturing facility.
Google
released the latest prototype of its driverless car last May, after spending
years developing the vehicle.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment