Apple's project “Titan” BEV

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edatoakrun

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Hard to say what the odds are of Apple actually entering the BEV market.

But anyone "holding $178 billion in cash" should be taken seriously, IMO.

Apple Gears Up to Challenge Tesla in Electric Cars

IPhone Maker Has 100s Working on Design of a Minivan Like Vehicle

Apple Inc. has revolutionized music and phones. Now it is aiming at a much bigger target: automobiles.

The Cupertino, Calif., company has several hundred employees working secretly toward creating an Apple-branded electric vehicle, according to people familiar with the matter. The project, code-named “Titan,” initially is working on the design of a vehicle that resembles a minivan, one of the people said.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Apple ultimately could decide not to proceed with a car. In addition, many technologies used in an electric car, such as advanced batteries and in-car electronics, would be useful to other Apple products, including the iPhone and iPad.

Apple often investigates technologies and potential products, going as far as building multiple prototypes for some things that it won’t ever sell. Any car would take several years to complete and obtain safety certifications.
But the size of the project team and some of the people assigned to it indicate that the company is serious, these people said....

Building cars are capital intensive, costing cost hundreds of millions of dollars for design, tools and production and certifications. Auto makers also must help ramp up a supply network for the thousands of components that go into a vehicle.

Battery-powered cars add another dimension. Tesla Motors Inc., for instance, has seen losses widen amid rising expenses to build an electric sport-utility vehicle. It expects to spend $1.5 billion on capital expenditures and R&D in 2015.

Mr. Cook approved the car project almost a year ago and assigned veteran product design Vice President Steve Zadesky to lead the group, the people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Zadesky is a former Ford Motor Co. engineer who helped lead the Apple teams that created the iPod and iPhone.

Mr. Zadesky was given permission to create a 1,000-person team and poach employees from different parts of the company, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Working from a private location a few miles from Apple’s corporate headquarters in Cupertino, the team is researching different types of robotics, metals and materials consistent with automobile manufacturing, the people said...

Manufacturing a car is enormously expensive. A single plant usually costs well over $1 billion and requires a massive supply chain to produce the more than 10,000 components. Elon Musk , the chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla, said last fall that it is “really hard” to make a car, as the company struggled to ramp up production on its Model S sedan.

The expense is a barrier to entry to many potential competitors, but would be less of a hurdle for Apple, which reported holding $178 billion in cash as of Dec. 27...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-titan-car-project-to-challenge-tesla-1423868072" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
They've been poaching Tesla employees like Tesla is going out of buisness.

And since that's how Musk got SpaceX going (at the expense of the company I work for), I'm glad to see karma finally stating to kick him in the arse.
 
Apple needs to feed the growth machine. People spend way more on cars than they do on phones. Makes a lot of sense if you accept the idea that the world could be changing that quickly.
 
NYLEAF said:
My first thought...yet another plug standard to deal with. :twisted: :mrgreen:
They could use the Tesla umc standard since Tesla opened the patents?
Knowing Apple they will change the plug standard every model year.
 
I guess it will be okay, as long as you never have to back up or change course... Oh, and it will only fit their proprietary charge connector... :lol:
 
IMO, in only ~10 years, most of the new vehicles sold worldwide will be autonomous BEVs.

So, Apple may get it, that the this revolution in vehicle design, manufacturing, and sales leaves the future market wide-open for new entrants.

(Reuters) - Technology giant Apple AAPL.O is learning how to make a self-driving electric car and is talking to experts at carmakers and automotive suppliers, an automotive source familiar with the talks said on Saturday.

The Cupertino, California-based maker of phones, computers and watches is exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just designing automotive software or individual components, the source said.

"They don't appear to want a lot of help from carmakers," the source, who declined to be named, said.

Apple is gathering advice on parts and production methods, the source said, adding that Apple appeared not to be interested in combustion engine technology or conventional manufacturing methods...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/14/uk-apple-autos-idUKKBN0LI0IN20150214" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Actually, I think the same device you use communicate and manage tasks when you are not driving, will probably be integrated to allow your vehicle to communicate and manage the driving, as well.

And Apple wants to sell you that device.

So Apple understands it needs to be closely involved in future production plans, whether it decides to manufacture vehicles itself, or not.

It’s primetime for Apple to get into cars. Nowadays, automobiles aren’t, at their core, vehicles that simply move you around. They are devices in and of themselves.

At least that’s how Sam Jaffe, an analyst with Navigant Research, sees the bigger picture in light of today’s news that Apple’s putting major resources into making an electric car. “Who better to figure out how to make this work than a device company?” he says...
http://www.wired.com/2015/02/apple-making-car-isnt-ridiculous-think/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
edatoakrun, I'm with you. I think you've nailed it. While I have my doubts about them actually producing a car (although in sure they could), I find it far more likely they're out to redesign the car computer systems.
 
edatoakrun said:
IMO, in only ~10 years, most of the new vehicles sold worldwide will be autonomous BEVs.
Nearly 0% of chance in that.

Yes, some fancy cars in the US / EU may have a lot of autonomous features - but that's about it.

Regulatory hurdles - and technology hurdles are just too many.

Otherwise we'd be having flying cars like everyone thought we will decades back.

I'll be happy if in 10 years we have 25% of the new car market for EVs.
 
I also don't believe Apple will be building cars but like Google will do what it can to be interconnected to the driving experience. i-Car won't be a car, only a completely different way of interacting with your car just as Apple has transformed other industries.

but then again, as mentioned above, they either a bit late to the game or simply were more closed mouth about it longer
 
If they are hiring a 1,000 people - it is possible they are looking at building a car. They may do it completely differently than Tesla - may be use the Coda model - but in a better way. Get all the cars contract manufactured and focus on design.

There is no need to hire 1,000 people just for designing infotainment for cars.

If Apple wants to seriously increase revenues - given their base - they need to get into an industry like cars. That would seriously affect their margins - but companies are known to get into a thin margin industry to increase revenue.
 
Apple getting into EVs would be a great thing - given their ultra high-profile and rabid fanbase.

This will convince a lot of people that it is the future.
 
evnow said:
Apple getting into EVs would be a great thing - given their ultra high-profile and rabid fanbase.

This will convince a lot of people that it is the future.

Yea, I think this is the very best thing that would come out of it, so this is why I want it to happen. Autonomous driving, as well as EV, would probably become mainstream with the cult of Apple joining.

It's like Apple Pay and mobile payments. I'm able to use my Google Wallet at a lot more places now that Apple Pay is firing up demand for the service.
 
Sounds like Apple is serious about being the Next iCar - 1,000 employees, poaching 50 high level Tesla engineers, poaching at least 5 - A123 battery engineers, poaching Steve Zadesky , poaching Johann Jungwirth - Pres/CEO of R&D Americas @ Daimler.

Lets say that Apple buys Tesla batteries from its Gigafactory @ $80/KW and the car gets 3.8 miles/kwh - Range desired is 400 miles - therefore a 105KW pack is needed at $8,400 wholesale.

Lets say they design and have built a glider (SUV with no motor) for $7,000 wholesale. In China of course to get that price at 1.25/hour labor cost. This includes a charging inverter system!!

Have an electric motor built @ $2,000 per motor and put two of them into the car - all wheel drive - $4,000 wholesale

Add the CarPlay system aka "IDash" for $500 - this is also includes a great battery management system and hardware.

Add rich leather to make it feel "Applesque" - $500

Add Apple wheels and tiny Brimbo brakes for a ridiculous $1,000 - Yes they strong armed the Germans and made them open a plant in China like they did GT Advanced Technologies in Mesa AZ.

We are now at $21,100 wholesale - put in the 40% margin - Sell it for $35,000

At that price they would control the world!!!

Sell 10,000,000 units/year and gross $350 billion and gross margin of $139 billion. Lets hope Elon Musk can keep up with battery demand!!
 
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