Source: Caixin.
Author: Zhang Zhen

According to the latest report from the technology media MacRumors, at Apple's request, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) canceled the company's autonomous driving car test permit on September 27, indicating that Apple's car manufacturing project may have come to an end.

It is worth noting that this test permit was not 'passively revoked,' but Apple actively submitted a confirmation notice to the DMV on September 25 to cancel the permit. In fact, if not canceled, the permit could have been valid until April 30, 2025.

Previously, Apple's R&D process dates back to 2014, with the ultimate vision of creating a Level 5 fully autonomous electric car. According to California regulations, companies need to apply for permits from the DMV to conduct autonomous driving car tests on California roads. Since Apple's approval on April 14, 2017, and the issuance of the permit by the DMV, they had used cars equipped with sensors and cameras for road tests.

Initially, Apple had only a few registered cars and drivers, covering 3 cars and 6 drivers, all of which were 2015 Lexus RX450h models. However, by July 2023, the Apple Car project team had registered 152 test drivers and 66 test vehicles with the DMV.

During road tests, Apple encountered many accidents, such as a rear-end collision while preparing to merge onto a highway on August 24, 2018. In October of the same year, a vehicle slipped and collided with other vehicles during a turn... However, these incidents did not seem to change Apple's ambition in car manufacturing. According to DMV public data, Apple's autonomous driving car test fleet in California reached 720,000 kilometers on the road last year, a significant increase from previous tests.

On the other hand, Apple has repeatedly lowered its expectations for autonomous driving levels, from the initial 'L5 level' to 'L4 level' in 2022, and to 'L2+ level' this year. At the same time, the car's market launch has been postponed multiple times, from 2026 to 2028.

In February this year, after investing billions of dollars and decades of R&D, Apple finally announced the cancellation of all plans to release autonomous driving cars. Nearly 2000 employees involved in the project were either laid off or reassigned, with many employees transferred to the machine learning and AI departments, shifting to generative artificial intelligence projects.

Editor/Jeffy