Recent reports indicate that Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO, discussed the potential for an Apple car as far back as 2008. At the time he was busy establishing the iPhone as a mainstream device and the car industry in Detroit was almost dead.
His aide at the time, Tony Fadell, confirmed discussions of aspects of an Apple car including design, fuel and connectivity. Other products considered by Apple included TV sets and cameras but the company settled for the iPhone which had the most impact on the markets.
Fadell confirms that Jobs was considering the possibilities of a much bigger gadget than the iPhone. Fadell, then a senior vice president at Apple, remembers talking with Jobs about the potential for an iCar.
Apple is thought to be pursuing the idea of an electric autonomous car by 2020.
It views software as its biggest advantage in a bid to upend the auto industry. "I think you're going to see some dramatic changes in the way we think about these cars and the accessibility in terms of the price points," Fadell said. "But we're still seven to 10 years away from a mass switch-over." When you consider that the iPhone came out eight years ago, a lot can happen in that time.
However, Apple is not alone in the race to produce electric cars as Google and Uber are also pushing forward with their own ideas. Most of the research done at the moment is focused on battery technology and connectivity of future cars. Once a critical mass of consumer demand is established then the introduction of actual products would follow.
It would be interesting to monitor the dynamics between newcomers and established car companies going forward. A marketing executive of a German auto company was asked recently whether he regards those newcomers as partners or competitors.
He said “Both.”
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*Adel Murad is a senior motoring and business journalist, based in London.
Email: [email protected]
