After the Apple Car project witnessed several managers leaving in the past few months, the company has reportedly hired one new executive from a former electric vehicle (EV) startup.
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Apple has hired former BMW AG Senior Executive Ulrich Kranz, according to sources familiar with the matter. Kranz was hired to help head up vehicle efforts, just a month after he stepped down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at self-driving vehicle maker Canoo.
Apple Met with California EV Startup Canoo to Discuss Car Plans https://t.co/qFz7yK76uk
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) January 12, 2021
Apple, being the most valuable company in the world with over $2 trillion (USD) in market capitalization, began its EV development in 2014, but later stopped pursuing the project in 2016 – instead, it began working on an autonomous driving platform it could later sell to third-party companies.
Prior to starting EV company Canoo, Kranz was Senior Vice President of BMW’s i3 and i8 cars at BMW, having worked at the company for 30 years.
In recent months, Apple has been in talks with multiple companies as potential suppliers, including China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Warren Buffett-backed BYD, who could supply batteries to the company.
Apple has also been in talks with a joint venture between LG Electronics and Magna about building the EV powertrain, which partnered up to manufacture the LG Magna e-Powertrain EV platform.
