Apple’s self-driving car has had a number of test miles driven, despite being largely behind the scenes and being nowhere near the amount of testing other companies have performed.
The secret project, internally called “Project Titan” at Apple, has gained the public eye, and Apple is also considering a number of companies about the potential of manufacturing the electric vehicle (EV) – including Foxconn, Magna, Nissan, Stellantis, and previously, Hyundai, as reported by Bloomberg.
Apple’s First Electric Cars Designed to Be Driverless, Made by Kia USA: Report https://t.co/nU8ZjPyakO
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) February 4, 2021
Despite recent talks with Hyundai/Kia over the Apple Car going public, both companies have now claimed they will not be working on the car together. This leaves Foxconn, Magna, Nissan, and Stellantis as potential manufacturing candidates, lest Hyundai and Apple are to change their minds again.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida, when recently asked if the company would be willing to build a car for Apple, said “[Nissan] has the DNA to do things others won’t do.”
Of the list, Foxconn seems highly likely, given that they’ve been working closely with Apple on the company’s iPhones for several years now. In addition, the company plans to release a solid-state battery by 2024, along with a new vehicle chassis and EV software platform unveiled in October 2020.
Canada’s Magna is also in the running to make the Apple Car, being the third-largest auto supplier in the world. Currently, the company is working with Fisker on its Ocean SUV, as well as its on-board self-driving features.
Regardless, it’ll easily be at least another 5 years before the Apple Car is born. In the meantime, speculating about what company Apple will choose to work with will have to hold us over.
