Apple’s long-rumored electric vehicle, Apple Car, is years ahead of schedule and is apparently rolling out in September next year, according to fresh updates obtained by Economic News Daily citing unnamed Taiwanese manufacturer executives.
According to previous statements, the Apple Car will be presented to the public and will be in mass production in 2023.
But new reports emerged that the vehicle has been put into overdrive, meaning that we could see the product much earlier than expected.
The iPhone maker has reportedly tested dozens of prototypes already on the roads of California.
Taiwanese suppliers such as Heda, BizLink-KY, Heqin and Tomita were said to begin manufacturing car components in the second quarter of next year. Apple believes everything would be finalized by the third quarter when the car is finally projected to make its first public appearance, according to Economic News Daily.
A previous report also stated that Apple is working closely with TSMC on self-driving chips, and is said to be preliminary cooperation negotiations to fulfill its plans.
According to MacRumors, automobile manufacturers often announce new vehicles year in advance, so there’s a possibility that Apple will do the same – giving everyone a sneak preview of the Apple Car in 2021, but not release it yet.
Over the years, reports have been floating on whether Apple is developing a full-fledged vehicle or is working on artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving technologies for vehicles in general.
Apple’s artificial intelligence chief John Giannandrea recently took over leadership of the project, according to Bloomberg.
The report can’t be considered completely reliable and the exact development stage of Apple Car remains a mystery. Its maker, technology giant Apple, remains tight-lipped on the project and many not announce anything until next year.
But if anything, this means the Apple Car is really going to see the daylight. We just don’t know when.