Apple Car Coming To A Dealer Near You — In 2019

Apple is ramping up for the release of its new Apple Car. According to a report via The Wall Street Journal, the tech giant is working on a “committed project” that’s involving their new electric car. They’re hoping to launch the car by 2019. To guarantee an even faster launch, Apple is hoping to employee at least 600 experienced automobile makers who are dedicated to working on the vehicle.

“The go-ahead came after the company spent more than a year investigating the feasibility of an Apple-branded car, including meetings with two groups of government officials in California. Leaders of the project, code-named Titan, have been given permission to the triple 600-person team, the people familiar with the matter said.”

Apple is in the process of hiring new employees for its electric car project. They’re in talks with hiring employees from Ford, General Motors, Tesla, and Volkswagen, as example. Back in August, Apple’s executives met with the officials from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles regarding the company’s plans to test its electric car, according to another report via the Guardian on Friday, September 18.

Apple has taken technology by storm with the iPhone, the iPad, and iPod Touch. Scott Steinberg, principal analyst of TechSavvy Global, says that the Cupertino-based company hopes to make that same impact with their first self-driving car that could rival Google’s self-driving car, which is also in development. Don’t expect it to be called the Apple Car, since they are in the process of working with different manufacturers.

“The strength of Apple has been in products and design, but it could very easily move into industrial design that includes cars. However, it is likely that they could partner with other companies, so it’s to be determined how they will actually fully move into this space.”

While Google has already lead the way in the autonomous vehicle industry, Apple is not planning to make the first car driverless. They’re thinking of incorporating that function at a later date. Right now, they just want to focus on creating the first Apple Car that will be introduced to the general public.

Apple is hoping that the release of their new vehicle will lead to other projects down the future. The company hopes to expand beyond laptops, MP3 players, smartphones, and tablets. Apple has been in the process of checking out secure facilities in the Bay Area where a prototype of the Apple Car could be tested.

It’s still unclear whether the Apple Car will be built from the ground up or if they will team up with an existing auto manufacturer. Rumors swirled that Apple is in talks with BMW about using the BMW i3 electric car as the catalyst for the Apple Car, but those rumors have not yet been confirmed.

Other details about the rumored new Apple Car, such as specs, features, and design, have not been confirmed yet. Everything is still hearsay and rumors at the moment.

What are your thoughts on an Apple Car? Would you be willing to drive it? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.

[Image: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images]