Apple To Build Electric Car By 2020

Apple, the Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of computers, smart devices and other electronics is building an electric car. With no confirmations coming directly from Apple, only sources close to the situation have leaked information to the press. What those sources have revealed is that Apple has assembled a team to work on this electric car project, including Apple Vice President Steve Zadesky.

According to the WSJ, Zadesky “was given permission to create a 1,000-person team and poach employees from different parts of the company” in order to get the project off and moving. According to the WSJ the project is taking place in a lab a few miles from Apple’s HQ where employees are using, “robotics, metals and materials consistent with automobile manufacturing.”

The WSJ also reported Apple CEO Tim Cook approved this project close to a year ago. Speculation indicates that Apple will need to partner with 3rd party suppliers to reach their manufacturing production goal date of 2020. The new Apple vehicle may look less like a traditional car and more smooth and clean as is always seen in Apple products like their phones and tablets. Some are pointing to Apple’s hiring of Marc Newson as an indication that the organization is looking for an innovative design, potentially similar to the Ford 021C concept car that he designed for Ford back in 1999.

Apple has also come under fire for supposedly poaching employees from automotive companies such as A123 Systems. A123 Systems is an electric car battery maker. In a lawsuit, A123 Systems alleges that Apple took their top engineering talent for what they believe is a similar role at Apple. According to Reuters the suit alleges, “Apple is currently developing a large-scale battery division to compete in the very same field as A123.” The suit further alleges that Apple is planning on or currently recruiting employees from, “Toshiba, LG Chem Ltd, Panasonic Corp, Johnson Controls Inc. and Samsung SDI Co Ltd.”

This lawsuit is in addition to allegations that Tesla Motors and Apple are in the midst of a poaching war for top talent. The poaching war with Tesla has been less secretive and doesn’t involve any publicly known lawsuits. Apple even hired away Tesla’s lead recruiter, Lauren Ciminera, to help their efforts.

A major question about the Apple electric car is how it will be sold. Apple sells their products directly to consumers, however they also allow partnerships for sales in a retail environment. With their cars, will they have their own private car stores and sell through dealers? Sam Abuelsamid, a former GreenFuelsForcast.com technical writer, published a piece on the Apple electric car speculation. In his write-up he said, “It’s also entirely possible that Apple could go the traditional franchise route. There is probably no shortage of potential dealers willing to put up a multi-million dollar franchise fee to give the brand a shot.” He went on to say that Apple would likely sell to a mix of independent dealers and their own system of company stores.

Also fueling the fire that Apple is working on electric vehicle technology are the van sightings. Vans, which are leased to Apple, have been seen driving around the country. From Brooklyn to California to Honolulu, Apple appears to be doing some high-level testing.

Will Apple incorporate dealerships into the sales of their electric vehicle? If they do, would you be interested in being an Apple car dealer? Do you think that an Apple vehicle will be released in 2020?