Apple grew to the giant that it is now when the groundbreaking iPhone was introduced in June 2007. The Cupertino company is aiming to replicate that achievement by entering the auto industry with the Apple Car, and the plan is to again reshape the industry practices.
Automakers design and manufacture the vehicles they sell and Tesla picked up from that model but modernized the whole approach to mass-produce electric vehicles at record time. Apple saw that Tesla found incredible success and is now the world's leading EV maker so the iPhone maker is entering the picture to dominate by using a tried and tested formula.
Apple will disrupt the market with the Apple Car, whose design and technology will be provided by the company. The manufacturing duties will then be assigned to the tech titan's industry partners, believed to be established automakers.
According to Nikkei Asia, this is the battle plan that Apple intends to employ in making a breakthrough in the increasingly lucrative EV market segment.
The report said: "A potential Apple Car, if realized, is thought certain to affect the competitive landscape of the auto industry."
In trying to wrestle the lead from Tesla, Apple will again make use of the iPhone business model. The company will concentrate on the Apple Car's engineering and software but the actual running vehicle will be produced elsewhere.
There were recent reports of the tech firm forging partnerships with known auto brands such as Hyundai and Volkswagen, which suggested that Apple is plotting a global reach for the Apple Car. The template shaping up is exactly what was seen with the iPhone and Apple seems convinced that it can re-use the trick to reinvent the car.
It appears too that the company is confident of hitting the gold mine anew by making this case to car buyer: They need the Apple Car. This smart car will see the light of the day boasting of self-driving capabilities and a breakthrough battery technology, which Apple sees as features that consumers will find hard to resist.
Already, the U.S. company is ramping up on efforts to accelerate the Apple Car's development. Apple did try to acquire an EV startup last year to gain access to the firm's scalable EV platform. Per the report by 9to5Mac, Apple approached Canoo for the latter's vehicle cabin design that could potentially allow for a more flexible EV interior.
The talks, however, were halted as Canoo was only interested in taking investments from Apple. The tech giant, on the other hand, was bent on a takeover.
Such a move is a testament to Apple's serious play in the burgeoning EV market. In 2019, the company added Drive.ai to its business portfolio and the acquisition brought in a new flavor of autonomous driving technology to Cupertino.
