Rumors of an Apple car have been swirling for a while now, but according to a new report, Apple’s plans of building its own car have broken down.
Sources speaking to Bloomberg say that Apple has “drastically scaled back” its automotive plans. Many engineers working on Project Titan, the rumored codename for Apple’s car project, have left the effort, either over concerns that the car would never come to market or because they were cut or reassigned by Apple. For example, more than 120 software engineers are said to have been cut in September.
Many of the people higher up on the project have reportedly departed Project Titan, too. That includes Steve Zadesky, who previously worked at Ford and helped to design the iPod but is now on a different project within Apple.
Following these departures, it’s said that Apple is now focusing on creating an autonomous driving system for cars. This could allow it to partner with an existing car maker in the future or restart its own car plans.
Sources say that Apple executives have set a deadline of late 2017 for the Project Titan team to show what they’ve built. Apple will then decide whether or not to continue with the project.
We’ll have to wait and see what becomes of Apple’s Project Titan, but it is very possible that we’ll never see an Apple car hit the market. Making a car is a huge task, especially for a company that’s never made a car before. With many Project Titan workers leaving the project, Apple has made the decision to shift gears and focus on autonomous driving software rather than continue trying to plug along at making an entire vehicle.
