If you were hoping for an Apple Car in the next few years, you might have to wait a bit longer.
Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has stated that the Apple Car could arrive at any point before 2025, warning that many elements are still being worked on.
A December supply chain report has claimed that a number of Taiwanese car part factories were rushing shipments to Apple for a potential launch in September 2021. The report was considered unlikely, and lacked hard-defined specifications of the vehicle to the perceived short lead time for what’s considered an enormous project.
In a recent note to investors, Ming-Chi Kuo of TF Securities warns against believing the hype surrounding the report, which has helped push up the value of “concept stocks” for companies supposedly linked to Apple’s vehicular efforts. The buying of the shares in the related companies is a “knee-jerk reaction that could be short-lived,” with Kuo suggesting there are at least three reasons why investors shouldn’t do so right now.
Within the report, Kuo has stated that the “current development schedule of Apple Car is not clear.” If it were to start in 2020 and if “everything goes well,” the potential launch for a self-driving car could be between 2025 and 2027, by the firm’s reckoning.
“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,” Kuo writes.
Specifications and suppliers in reports and rumors are “only speculations by the market and do not involve actual Apple Car suppliers,” according to the note. It’s also thought that the “still evolving” nature of the technical specifications makes it “too early to talk about the final specs” prior to the product’s projected launch.
TF Securities cited that “the key success factor for Apple Car is not hardware, but big data/AI,” an area that Apple has “not demonstrated significant” competitive advantages for in its existing products.
In spite of the 2021 launch claim, other analysts offered their opinions as to the Apple Car release date. These opinions have largely centered around “next-level” monocell battery designs in a car due in 2024.
The Apple Car project, formerly known as “Project Titan,” has ranged from self-driving vehicle systems to car design. Apple’s efforts seem to be revolving around an electric car design, though the hiring of experts and acquisition of startups suggest it could incorporate a number of other technologies.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider