We have been hearing details on Apple's efforts to step into the automotive industry. While we can't be too sure, but recent reports and rumors seem to point that Apple will unlikely to launch the Apple Car until 2025-2027 at the very earliest. The vehicle is said to feature the 'next level' battery technology. This is not the first time that we're hearing about the Apple Car, last week we discovered that the electric vehicle will enter into production in 2024. However, an analyst has coined for a later launch.
Apple Car Launch Unlikely to Happen Until 2028 or Later, Claims Popular Analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo
The news comes from the popular analyst, MIng-Chi Kuo stating that the Apple Car specifications are yet to be finalized. In addition to this, he also anticipated that the Apple Car might be pushed to a 2028 launch schedule or even later.
We predicted in a previous report that Apple will launch Apple Car in 2023–2025 […] However, our latest survey indicates that the current development schedule of Apple Car is not clear, and if development starts this year and everything goes well, it will be launched in 2025–2027 at the earliest. Due to changes in the EV/self-driving market and Apple's high-quality standards, we would not be surprised if Apple Car's launch schedule is postponed to 2028 or later.
Ming-Chi Kio also stated that the market is "overly bullish" regarding the arrival of the Apple Car's launch. Investors have been restrained into not buying stocks related to Apple's electric vehicle. Kuo also mentioned that Apple's success in the electric self-driving vehicle segment is uncertain or what impact would it have on the industry. This is potentially due to Apple's lagging behind in in AI or deep learning.
The market has high expectations for Apple Car. Still, we remind investors that although Apple has a variety of competitive advantages, it is not always successful in new
business. For example, Apple failed to enter the smart speaker market. The demand for HomePod and HomePod mini were lower than expected, and the development of new smart speaker models had been temporarily suspended. The competition in the EV/self-driving car market is fiercer than that for smart speakers, so we think it's perilous to jump to the conclusion that Apple Car will succeed.If Apple Car wants to succeed in the future, the key success factor is big data/AI, not hardware. One of our biggest concerns about Apple Car is that when Apple Car is launched, the current self-driving car brands will have accumulated at least five years of big data and be conducive to deep learning/AI. How does Apple, a latecomer, overcome this lagging gap?
Reuter also claims that Apple's self-driving car will be powered by a monocell battery which is designed to "frees up space inside the battery pack by eliminating pouches and modules that hold battery materials." This will potentially extend range on a single charge. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO recently reacted to Apple Car's rumors and stated that that a monocell battery is "electrochemically impossible." Nonetheless, only time will share more details on the Apple Car launch.
We will share more details on Apple's efforts to develop an electric vehicle as soon as we hear it. Sound off in the comments sand share your views in the comments section below.
