The technology group has postponed the planned start date by around a year to 2026, the Bloomberg news agency wrote on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The project has been pending for months, as those responsible in the group have had to accept the fact that their plans for a vehicle without a steering wheel and pedals are not possible with the current technology. Therefore, a less ambitious design with steering wheel and pedals is now being planned. In addition, fully autonomous driving should only be supported on motorways.
The delays underline the challenges for the group, which is venturing into completely new territory with the planned car. Despite the problems, Apple had already revealed stronger ambitions in the automotive sector at the WWDC developer conference in June. The group has big plans for its car software CarPlay. So far it has been there to bring content from an iPhone to the infotainment screen. The new version should now also offer access to car functions such as controlling the air conditioning – and also be able to operate the entire instrument cluster, for example with the speed display.
The first vehicles that use it should be presented at the end of next year, it said. Among the manufacturers that Apple says are participating in the project are Mercedes (Mercedes-Benz Group (ex-Daimler)), Audi and Porsche, as well as Ford Motor, Renault, Nissan Motor and Volvo, among others. Google has been working for years to offer manufacturers an Android version for vehicle functions in addition to its CarPlay competitor Android Auto.
Apple shares temporarily lost 3.05 percent on the US stock exchange NASDAQ to 142.17 US dollars.
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