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Apple’s electric car may hit the road in 2019

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Apple Car
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Although Apple’s penchant for secrecy means it’s likely to be some considerable time before we hear anything official from the company about an electric car, a steady stream of leaked information over recent months suggests there’s little doubt that it is actually working on such a project.

The latest tidbit regarding the tech giant’s automotive ambitions comes via the Wall Street Journal, which on Monday reported 2019 as Apple’s target date for unveiling its much-talked-about electric vehicle.

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Unnamed sources claiming to have knowledge of Apple’s inner workings told the Journal the car plan has now been designated as a “committed project” with a “target ship date for 2019.”

Team size set to triple

Codenamed Project Titan, it seems Apple’s electric car team is preparing to push forward in a big way, having apparently secured permission from executives to increase the number of people working on the project from 600 to 1,800.

Despite a report over the weekend revealing that Apple executives had recently met with officials from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) – the agency that takes care of rules and regulations for the testing of self-driving cars on California roads – as well as reports that Apple has hired engineers with specialized knowledge of driverless technology, the Journal’s source says the 2019 vehicle will not be fully autonomous. Such a vehicle could, however, come later.

Further evidence pointing to Apple’s electric car ambitions came last month after documents emerged revealing the company is searching for a private site to test its rumored vehicle.

And in July it hired Doug Betts, former quality control chief at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The auto industry veteran spent a total of 21 years in similar roles at Nissan, Toyota, Michelin, and General Motors, strongly suggesting his new role at Apple has less to do with the next-generation Apple Watch and more with a large battery-powered transportation contraption.

Yes, it’s fair to say that the idea of Tim Cook one day appearing on stage alongside an Apple car now looks more likely than not.

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Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
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