EVs are the future of Road transport, well, there is no looking back at this, as an EV is sustainable compared to ICE vehicles. Many big companies are trying their luck in the Auto Industry with their first EV plans. In fact, this list does not only include Automakers but also many other companies from other fields, like Xiaomi, a phone maker that just launched its first EV challenging Tesla. One more such phone maker is Apple, who hinted about its EV plans about ten years ago. Well, today the news says that Apple cancelled their EV project based on AI. So, let us elaborate on this topic, and find out Why Apple cancelled their EV project or When will Apple car launch?

About Apple's EV Project

Ten years ago, Apple confirmed that it was interested in getting into the Automobile Industry. It also mentioned that if they entered the Industry, then it would be with EVs only, as they knew that EVs are going to be the future of Road Transport in the world. Apple internally named this EV project Titan and Project 172. 

So, around the time between 2013 - 2015, Apple started hiring people from the Auto Industry. They hired a lot of ex-engineers from Tesla, Toyota, and A123 Systems. All these hired workers by Apple were specifically told to work on various technologies to make Apple’s EV stand out in public. They hired about 200 people to work on the EV project. 

In fact, back then, Apple was so aggressive in terms of hiring people that A123 Systems - which is a Battery manufacturer -  filed a law against Apple for hiring five of its former workers for similar positions in Apple’s project. Basically, those five workers violated A123 System’s noncompete agreement by leaving their jobs and joining Apple for similar roles in its project. 

During that time, Apple was also in a long-maintained relationship with two German carmakers - BMW and Volkswagen. They worked together to develop a system that could connect iPods with car systems, and then in the next year, 2016, Apple introduced Apple CarPlay for the first time. 

In their EV project, Apple mainly wanted to focus on Autonomous Driving Systems, like the ones in Teslas back then. Speculations also state that Apple spent Billions of Dollars in the development phase of its own ADAS. 

Moreover, as the EV project was gradually nearing completion, Apple even started testing it on public roads. 

Why Apple cancelled their EV project?

Now, after literally investing a ton of money and hiring hundreds of people for Apple’s next big thing, why Apple cancelled their EV project cars? Well, there are many reasons behind Apple scrapping its EV project after ten years. The first one is - 

Competition - Over the years, the competition in the Auto Industry has risen like anything. There are a lot of companies, whose names were not known to anyone, but today, they have one of the best-selling EVs in the Industry. 

The Second one is ADAS - The technology that Apple was investing a lot in - ADAS, today, is like just another basic feature in cars. Almost every car priced above ₹10 lacs has it. Plus, speaking of something new in cars today, it is quite tough, as all the top cars have tried almost everything, including ADAS, Color-changing bodies, Other advanced technologies, etc. 

Big Money - The amount of money Apple was investing in research and development to create something new in the Auto industry with its EV, was immense. A source says that in total, till today, Apple has invested almost $115 billion in Research and Development of its EVs. Therefore, after investing so much in one sector, when simultaneously, Apple’s one more big product - the Vision Pro was in its developmental stage, they decided to scrap the EV one, as there was no potential left. 

Complications - As mentioned earlier, in 2015, Apple was on a spree of hiring people for its EV project. While doing this, Apple also laid off many people from the EV project. Moreover, it had also gotten stuck in a lawsuit against A123 Systems. 

Then, a source also stated that Apple also scrapped this project and restarted it many times, which deepened the complexity of the project.