Apple met with the launch of California’s electric vehicle, Canoo, in early 2020 as part of its efforts to continue developing its own “Apple Car” project.
The meetings took place in the first half of 2020 and covered options from investments to a possible acquisition, said people familiar with the issue. The Verge.
It seems that Apple was initially attracted to Canoo’s scalable electric vehicle platform. Compared to other car manufacturers and startups, the platform integrates more of a vehicle’s electronic components and allows for greater flexibility in cab design. Canoo, in turn, was interested in taking an investment from Apple. However, talks broke down, and Canoo went public by merging with an unfilled check fund in 2020.
News of Apple’s interest in Canoo comes amid reports that tech giant Cupertino is negotiating with Hyundai to produce an autonomous electric vehicle by 2024.
In February 2020, Hyundai and Canoo announced plans to co-develop electric vehicles. This announcement and any potential partnership between the two car companies does not seem to have anything to do with Apple’s involvement with one or the other.
Apple’s work on autonomous vehicle systems is a poorly kept secret for years. The company’s vehicle division, internally nicknamed Project Titan, has been developing automotive driving technology since at least 2014. It was initially thought to focus on developing a production vehicle itself, the purpose of the project was to move to creating basic autonomous systems. a car. In recent years, it seems that Apple has tried to create an “Apple Car” itself.
Rumors and speculation about an Apple electric vehicle resumed in December 2020, when Reuters reported that the company could launch a vehicle with “next level” battery technology by 2024.
Ming-Chi Kuo, the analyst of TF Securities, very precisely, proposed that “Apple Car” should not arrive until 2025 at least. At least one report claimed that the project is so immature that it would take five to seven years to for an “Apple car” to be made.