Former GM and BMW executive comments about Apple’s electric vehicle

Some reports are suggesting that Apple is aiming to manufacture an electric vehicle, probably a plug-in model, by 2019.

In May, billionaire Carl Icahn wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighting the massive opportunity the electric and autonomous auto market projects, according to Forbes. There are now reports coming through in the Wall Street Journal that Apple will be coming out with its first electric auto in 2019.

Reportedly, Apple has been investigating the future and demand of the electric cars for about a year now. Apple’s vehicle project, which is known as Project Titan, will have its 600-person team tripled to complete the task. As per sources, the team appointed by Apple is set to near as much as 1,800 individuals, exceedingly surpassing the strength Tesla had of just 500 individuals working for it worldwide in 2009, at the time of its Initial Public Offering (IPO). However, it does feel as if a lot will have to go perfectly for Apple, a company with no experience in the automotive industry, to meet this ambitious deadline.

On Monday, tech giant Apple announced it would sell its first vehicle in 2019, but a former auto industry executive warns that the company may be in over its head when it comes to making cars.

Recently, Apple hired experts in the field of driverless cars. While making cars is a highly competitive business, the reaction thus far to Apple’s moves have been overwhelmingly positive. In addition to autonomous vehicle pioneer Google, which has been testing self-driving cars for six years, rideshare service Uber has been buzzing about substituting its drivers with robots, capable of working twice as fast and without the mistakes inherent in human labor. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported in February that Apple’s automotive plans were real and advancing, and a report from Bloomberg a few days later hinted at a possible launch in 2020.

One thing that needs a mention here is that Apple has good knowledge about the battery technology as well as the sensors and software needed to rule the modern automobiles.

According to Extreme Tech, Apple is likely to partner with other automobile manufacturers to license chassis and suspension technologies.