When it comes to the “Apple Car,” some have their doubts. “Veteran technology- and Apple-watcher Horace Dediu… focuses on how hard it is for new entrants to penetrate the car business,” Michael Hiltzik reports for The Los Angeles Times.
“Dediu’s most interesting insight may be that the most important innovations in carmaking have occurred in the production process, not in design. As he points out, contracted manufacturing in the auto industry is ‘nearly non-existent,'” Hiltzik reports. “This is exactly counter to the way Apple makes its products: The company does almost no production of its own and outsources almost everything. Is Foxconn, the company’s big Chinese supplier, ready to gear up an auto production line? If not, then Apple would be getting into a business activity where it really has no home-grown experience.”
Hiltzik reports, “Tech consultant Steve Crandall’s… guess sounds right: ‘No, it won’t happen as a car. But there may be other connections through Apple’s growing ecosystem.’ In other words, Apple will be a supplier to the car industry, not a competitor. And the profit margins from Apple-branded automotive options could, indeed, be enormous.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Rainy Day” for the heads up.]
