In its latest bid to finally launch an Apple car in the coming years, Apple didn’t turn to a tech world expert, but rather to someone who knows how to buld vehicles, former Ford Motor Co. executive Desi Ujkashevic.
Christiaan Hetzner for Fortune:
CEO Tim Cook sought help from someone steeped in the traditions of Detroit’s unionized auto industry, written off by Wall Street in recent years as an obsolete, value-destroying dinosaur ripe for disruption by fast movers in Silicon Valley.
According to a report in Bloomberg that Apple declined to confirm, the California-based company recruited former Ford executive Desi Ujkashevic to help it bring to market a self-driving vehicle as soon as 2025.
What her role at Apple’s on-again, off-again car project will be precisely was not specified…
While it would be a stretch to say Ujkashevic is a household name among carmakers, an industry source that has known her for years characterized her as a manager with impeccable soft skills likely picked for her expertise in the labyrinthine field of safety and compliance laws.
“You cannot underestimate the enormous amount of work that goes into making a vehicle compliant with various regulatory regimes around the world. It’s an inescapable part of the industry — you just cannot get around it,” the person said.
MacDailyNews Take: Finally, Apple seems to be getting closer to unveiling “Apple Car,” since you can’t sell a vehicle if it’s not compliant with the various and sundry government regulations around the world.
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