On Wednesday, DigiTimes shared alleged details on Project Titan (“Apple Car”) autonomous vehicle development in Cupertino. Apple is reportedly in “preliminary cooperation negotiations” with top automotive electronics suppliers as the company continues to hire new employees from Tesla and other manufacturers.
DigiTimes claims that Apple is working to establish a factory in the United States, and that there is a production plan in place with preliminary technology specifications.
Apple chip supplier TSMC is reportedly working with Apple on some kind of “self-driving chip” at an R&D plant. TSMC is also collaborating with STMicroelectronics to further develop gallium nitride (GaN) technology that will be used in hybrid car converters and chargers, and DigiTimes says that this work is rumored to be related to the Apple Car.
According to DigiTimes, Apple will unveil an Apple Car in 2024 to 2025, and those in the component industry have said that the Apple Car model is “similar to Tesla.”
MacDailyNews Note: In August 2018, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a note to clients, “We expect that Apple Car, which will likely be launched in 2023–2025, will be the next star product. The reasons for this are as follows: (1) Potentially huge replacement demands are emerging in the auto sector because it is being redefined by new technologies. The case is the same as the smartphone sector 10 years ago; (2) Apple’s leading technology advantages (e.g. AR) would redefine cars and differentiate Apple Car from peers’ products; (3) Apple’s service will grow significantly by entering the huge car finance market via Apple Car, and (4) Apple can do a better integration of hardware, software, and service than current competitors in the consumer electronics sector and potential competitors in the auto sector.”