Nothing stirs up intrigue like new rumors and announcements from Apple. However, the recently announced cancellation of the Apple Car project shouldn’t be that surprising. An Apple Car has been rumored for years, and the company went so far as showing off concepts for a futuristic dashboard. Unfortunately, it appears that the company has officially pulled the plug with little reason given. Here are the reasons why you should have seen this coming from a mile away.
Apple Is All About Perfection
The first problem with Apple making a car is the company’s affinity for perfecting products. Obviously, there are always going to be hiccups with new releases, and the Vision Pro is evidence of that. However, perfecting a car is an entirely different animal. Apple definitely knows its way around consumer electronics, but jumping out of its niche and into vehicle manufacturing is a leap of faith, to say the least.
A vehicle is also a lot more complex than an iPhone, and Apple would have needed to design everything from the frame down to the seat covers. There are literally thousands of individual components and fasteners that all must work perfectly every time a user drives the vehicle. Ensuring that customers have a perfect experience every time they go out would be nearly impossible for Apple to achieve.
Cars Are Hard to Build
Even if Apple did manage to create a perfect vehicle, they must mass produce it. Apple does not mass produce its existing products and instead outsources the production to third parties, such as Foxconn. While they could try to do the same thing with a car, it would be extremely difficult. There are limited production facilities designed to build automobiles, and those plants are mostly occupied by the companies that build and sell vehicles.
It would be a logistical nightmare even if Apple could find someone to mass-produce their cars. Additionally, batteries for an electric car would have to be sourced, and only a handful of companies are even making EV batteries at the moment. Finally, quality control must be top-notch to avoid missing the most minor imperfections. Once built, Apple would still need a dealer network since the cars certainly wouldn’t fit in the existing Apple Stores.
Other Car Manufacturers Are Collapsing
Apple’s abandonment of its self-driving car should come as no surprise to those who closely watch the automotive industry. Electric vehicles are still struggling to catch on, and their high price tags are not helping either. Ford recently cut back on F-150 Lightning production due to slower-than-anticipated demand.
Things aren’t much better for other EV manufacturers, as companies like Rivian have little to look forward to. Things outside of the EV market are also pretty bleak as consumers claw back on spending. Apple certainly would not be excluded from the struggles that all of these companies face.
Self-Driving Technology Still Has a Long Way to Go
Despite all of the hope for automation and self-driving technology, there is still a long way to go before it works flawlessly. Tesla has spent years testing its self-driving functionality, which is far from perfect. If Apple seriously wanted to sell an autonomous vehicle, then they would potentially have to spend years just on testing its road-worthiness. The company could simply not want to take on such a long-term proposition with the hope of one day seeing a return on its investment.
Wrapping Up
EVs and self-driving cars are likely the future, but it is impossible to say just how far away that future is. The Apple Car gave many people hope for the future of EVs. With all of the factors discussed in mind, it does leave me wondering, was this project even remotely possible, or was it doomed from the start?
