Photographer: Brent Lewin / Bloomberg
Photographer: Brent Lewin / Bloomberg
Apple Inc. plans to build a self-driving car for consumers and aims to produce the vehicle in 2024, Reuters reported Monday.
The company is developing its own battery technology that could reduce the cost of power packs and extend the vehicle’s range, Reuters said, citing unidentified people familiar with the problem. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.
Apple is turning to external partners for elements of the system, including lidar sensors that give autonomous cars a real-time 3D image of the world, Reuters added. Apple is also developing its own lidar technology.
There are still chances that Apple will decide to reduce its efforts to an autonomous driving system that would be integrated with a car manufactured by a traditional car manufacturer, Reuters reported, noting that it is not clear which manufacturer would build it for Apple.
Apple has been working on driverless car technology since 2014, but reduced its ambitions from a full-fledged vehicle in 2017, Bloomberg News reported. Since then, Apple has been working on the basic standalone system. The company has decided whether to attach the system to its own car or existing vehicles or whether to partner with an established carmaker, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.
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