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苹果造车再遇波折:负责人又离任 七年后项目仍举棋不定

Apple Inc encountered another twists and turns in building the car: seven years after the person in charge left office, the project was still indecisive.

新浪美股 ·  Sep 13, 2021 03:26
苹果的测试车在加州的路上行驶

Last week, the leader Apple IncTesla, Inc. of the automobile projectDoug Field, a former executive, left Apple Inc to join Ford as Ford's director of advanced technology and embedded systems. After the news came out, Apple Inc held a plenary meeting.

Field is the fourth Apple Inc auto project leader to leave in seven years, and the team has lost three more executives in the past few months. The media speculated that Apple Inc might unplug the car project.

However, according to two people present, in the half-hour briefing, Apple Inc executives said they would restructure, but there would be no layoffs. Kevin Lynch, who has been in charge of Apple Inc's watch and health project, will take over Apple Inc's car project "Project Titan"-Apple Inc's car is still on its way, media reported on Thursday.

Laurie Yoler, a board member of Tesla, Inc. 's founder and former board member of Zoox, said that despite the turmoil, it was too early to call a halt to Apple Inc's seven-year-old car manufacturing plan.

However, after so many years, Apple Inc does not seem to be one step closer to launching a car. Apple Inc never acknowledged the existence of the Titan project, although it had to submit a report on how many miles its test vehicle had traveled in California.

These prototypes are usually white Lexus models with a row of sensors on the roof. But Apple Inc's 19000-mile "autopilot mileage" last year is a drop in the bucket compared with the 630000 miles completed by Alphabet's Waymo car project in California. That number is also declining; it is only 1/4 of what it was in 2018. Waymo also said that during the test period, Waymo's vehicle traveled an average of about 30, 000 miles, compared with Apple Inc's.

In 2015, Apple Inc CEO Cook sent a signal to Apple Inc at a conference, saying he wanted people to "experience iPhone in the car". He added: "it's all about making your life outside and in the car seamless." At the time, the smartphone market seemed saturated and revenues were falling. Apple Inc needs a new product.

Apple Inc's advantages are not clear.

The prospect of self-driving cars is not yet mature. Leaders who spend billions of dollars developing technology are not close to getting their money back. Some of them suffered obvious failures: UBER TECHNOLOGIES INCAnd LyftHave spun off their projects in the past year.

Now, this revolution looks more and more distant, and Apple Inc's advantage in the market is also difficult to distinguish.

"I don't see where Apple Inc's technological advantage is," said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at Bernstein. "it can only be automatic, and this is the direction that the whole world is pursuing. However, it is not a good idea to have no advantage in a market where it is extremely difficult to make money. "

Apple Inc has a professional supply chain, attractive brands and the ability to combine hardware, software and services. Nevertheless, in terms of its product portfolio, Tesla, Inc. may surpass Apple Inc in battery performance, while Apple Inc may be overtaken by Mercedes-Benz and BMW in terms of interior design or mass production.

"it's impossible for Apple Inc to build a car.

For Manuela Papadopol, an industry veteran and chief executive of Designated Driver, a start-up focused on long-distance driving, all signs are that Apple Inc is shifting from cars to enhanced digital cockpits and redefining elements of the passenger experience.

"it's absolutely impossible for Apple Inc to build a car," she said. "Don't get me wrong, I think Apple Inc's opportunity in the automotive field is incredible-not in making cars, but in the interior space. They can project augmented reality and virtual reality onto the window. This is where the opportunity lies. "

At the same time, some people who have left the Titan project say it has not chosen a clear path forward. Existing carmakers rarely show fear of iPhone makers invading their turf.

General Motors Co, operating partner of venture capital group Playground Global"I really don't think anyone in the [car] industry is afraid of Apple Inc," said Sasha Ostojic, a former engineer at Cruise, the self-driving department. "

"when I was managing the project at Cruise, I interviewed a group of people from Apple Inc's special product group (including the Titan project team)." most of them were disappointed and said, 'most of the research is directionless, and we really don't know where it's going. We'd rather do a serious project.'"

The translation is provided by third-party software.


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