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The development of its own car as part of “Project Titan”, which began in 2014, is correspondingly well advanced, two people familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.
A central element is the newly developed batteries that clearly
it could lead to lower costs with a higher range, another person said. “It’s like the first time you’ve seen an iPhone,” he said of the new battery. The US group declined to comment.
Cooperation with partners
According to the first two informants, the car parts are likely to come from suppliers. This includes the lidar sensors the car uses to get a sense of its surroundings. It is not clear who will be responsible for assembling the vehicle.
It was rumored in circles that Apple might work with another partner here. In any case, it cannot be ruled out that Californians will end up satisfied with an autonomous driving system that would be installed in cars from a traditional manufacturer. Additionally, two insiders said the coronavirus pandemic could delay plans until 2025 or later.
New battery technology
According to one of the people, the batteries will be built according to a unique “single cell” design. Individual battery cells would be strengthened and available space increased. In addition, Apple is examining the use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology, with which the risk of overheating is significantly lower than with other lithium-ion batteries.
As part of Project Titan, Apple initially took the approach of building your own car. Meanwhile, the group shifted its focus to software. In 2018, former Apple employee Doug Field returned from Tesla to the maker of the iPhone and laid off 190 members of the Titan team a year later.
Conversations with Magna
Meanwhile, Apple also had talks with Magna International about producing a car. Initially, a statement from Magna was also unavailable.
A former Titan employee certified that Apple could put its own car on wheels, even if it wasn’t easy. “If a company has the resources to do it, it will probably be Apple,” the person said. “But at the same time, it is not a mobile phone.”
