Apple talks with Mercedes detailed in new Apple Car report
As you may be familiar with by now, Apple has officially canceled its project to build an electric car. The project never saw the light of day and wasn’t even confirmed by Apple, but the company had been working on its own car since 2014. Following reports that Apple had approached Tesla for a partnership, we now know that the company has also talked to Mercedes-Benz about building an Apple Car together.
Apple tried to build an Apple Car with Mercedes-Benz
As reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple tried to negotiate a partnership with Mercedes-Benz to build an Apple Car. The report says that talks “progressed further” for months and both companies had been actively working on an electric car project together. However, while Mercedes would build the Apple Car, it also wanted to sell its own cars using Apple’s self-driving platform.
Apple eventually withdrew from the partnership as the company’s executives were confident that Apple could build a car on their own after all the early work with Mercedes. The company also reportedly discussed with Ford the possibility of the car manufacturer selling an Apple Car under its Lincoln brand, but the talks “didn’t progress past an early meeting.”
In the past, Apple had some discussions with Elon Musk about buying Tesla to build its car. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly pulled the plug on the deal during early negotiations. At some point, Apple executives met with Musk again to discuss other ways of collaborating, such as buying batteries from Tesla.
Interestingly, Bloomberg says that Apple came close to a deal to buy luxury automaker McLaren. At the time, Jony Ive was still working for the company and would get a new design studio in London to work on the project. The deal didn’t go ahead either.
The idea of an Apple Car came from Steve Jobs
Although the Titan project (the codename for the Apple Car) emerged in 2014, the idea came from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs years ago. “In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, with American car companies on the brink of failure, the Apple chief executive even floated the idea of acquiring General Motors Co. for pennies on the dollar,” the report says.
Tony Fadell, considered the father of the iPod, confirmed that he and Jobs talked about “what would be this generation’s new Volkswagen Beetle.” However, as the company focused on making the iPhone a hit, Jobs decided it wasn’t time to start a car project.
An ambitious project
Under Cook’s direction, the Titan project was quite ambitious. One of the prototypes looked like a white minivan with “rounded sides, an all-glass roof, sliding doors and whitewall tires.” The vehicle would have a giant screen, a powerful audio system, and reclining seats that made the cabin look like a club.
The Apple Car was first designed to have a Level 5 autonomous driving system, meaning that it would drive itself entirely using its onboard computer with no steering wheel or pedals. The only manual controls would be a “video-game-style controller or iPhone app” which would serve as a backup.
Doug Field, head of the project, warned executives about the challenges of building an autonomous car and suggested scaling back the goals to Level 3, which requires a human driver to take control in some situations. However, Apple executives still wanted a Level 5 car.
Frustrations over the car’s project
The project hadn’t made much progress by 2016 and the board of directors was already questioning the viability of the Apple Car. Dan Riccio then convinced Bob Mansfield, known for his role in Apple’s hardware team, to join the car team. Mansfield focused on working on the autonomous driving system rather than the car itself.
Some executives believed that Apple could license its technologies to other car manufacturers. Mansfield and Cook agreed to build a self-driving shuttle in partnership with Volkswagen to be used by Apple employees on its campus. However, the project was seen as a distraction and was also shut down.
The report says that many Apple executives have been frustrated by Cook’s indecision over the direction of the Titan project. In the meantime, as the project was going nowhere, engineers hired to work on the car were leaving Apple to work for other companies. From 2016 to 2018, Apple had already laid off 120 people from the car project.
Sources told Bloomberg that Apple has estimated the production cost of its car at around $120,000, far above the target of $85,000.
The end of the Apple Car
Apple has made a lot of changes to the leadership of the Titan project since then, but none of them have resulted in anything promising. At one point, Apple put a fleet of Lexus SUVs customized with its own self-driving technology on the streets for testing purposes. The plan was to expand these tests to more cities by 2024. The company wanted to sell self-driving as a subscription service.
Last year, before giving up on the project for good, the designers and engineers decided to experiment with a Level 2 autonomous car – the same as the Tesla Autopilot. But that would make the Apple Car look like any other electric car already available on the market without much of a difference.
Kevin Lynch is said to have convinced Apple’s leadership that building a fully autonomous car would take at least another decade. Earlier this year, Cook was already considering shutting down the project as key engineers and executives were already joining other companies.
On February 26, around 2,000 Apple employees received an email about a meeting the following day. Lynch and Williams then confirmed that the Titan project was being shut down without further explanation. Some of the engineers have been relocated to Apple’s AI and software division.
The failed car project cost Apple around $1 billion a year. Be sure to read the full article with even more details about the Apple Car project.
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Environment
Trump approves U.S. Steel merger with Japan’s Nippon after companies sign national security agreement
European EV charging provider Allego has launched what is says is Europe’s first rollout of the “world’s safest and most secure” Plug & Charge technology.
The new tech is based on the open industry standard OCPP 2.0.1 and promises to make EV charging as easy as, well, plugging in your car. Forget apps, cards, and complicated sign-ins. If your EV is compatible, all you have to do is pull up and plug in.
Jean Gadrat, Allego’s CMO, said, “By removing digital friction points, apps, and cards, we give drivers the confidence to travel further and charge more conveniently. Whether in the city, on the highway, or abroad, Plug & Charge delivers the same secure, one-step charging experience.”
Here’s how Allego’s Plug & Charge works
Plug & Charge is an ISO 15118-based authentication and payment method built by Allego on OCPP 2.0.1, standardizing communication between OCPP-compliant chargers and networks.
Once your car is enabled for Plug & Charge, the process is completely hands-off. You plug in, and your EV and the charger swap secure digital certificates to authenticate your account. There’s no need to tap an RFID card, open an app, or even press a button.
Allego’s system supports Mutual TLS encryption and certificate-based authentication, so only authorized vehicles can charge. That means no billing mistakes or fraudulent access, which has been a big concern with some older public charging setups.
Available across Europe now
Allego’s Plug & Charge functionality is at more than 5,000 fast and ultra-fast chargers across Europe, and it also works across partner networks, deploying a truly cross-network Plug & Charge experience.
It’s a future-ready platform, too. Thanks to OCPP 2.0.1, the protocol supports remote firmware updates, advanced security, and new features as they become available. So your charger can grow along with your EV.
“As new vehicle models and charging technologies emerge, OCPP 2.0.1 ensures your car always ‘speaks the same language’ as the charger,” said Manuel Trotta, Allego’s head of mobility solutions.
Allego partnered with Alpitronic, Hubject, and Ford to bring its cross-network Plug & Charge to life.
Read more: Waffle House is getting DC fast chargers – and it’s a genius move
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Environment
The Kia PV5 is a real-life Transformer: Here’s our first look at it as an electric truck
Kia is looking to shake things up with its new custom-tailored Platform Beyond Vehicles (PBVs). The PV5, Kia’s first electric van based on the platform, is already showing how versatile it is. After the PV5 was spotted for the first time with an open bed, Kia looks about ready to drop an electric truck variant.
Is Kia launching an electric truck PV5 variant?
At the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Kia revealed its PBV strategy for the first time. The vehicles are designed as “total mobility solutions” that combine fit-for-purpose EVs with Hyundai’s latest software and tech.
Kia’s PBVs are based on Hyundai’s new ultra-flexible E-GMP.S EV platform, which can be custom-tailored for different uses. The first EV based on the platform, the PV5, launched earlier this year in the UK in two variations, Cargo and Passenger.
The Passenger model is fairly self-explanatory as a personal, everyday van, while the Cargo version is designed for commercial use.
Kia said more variants were on the way, including a refrigerated truck, chassis cab, open-bed, luxury “Prime” passenger, and sliding truck models.
The open-bed variant was recently captured driving in Korea, giving us our first look at the Kia PV5 as an electric truck.
Although brief, the video from HealerTV, taken as the vehicle was driving by, reveals a few new details. It’s our closest look at the open-bed variant so far.
Like other PV5 variants, it appears to be the same up front. In fact, it’s almost identical to the first teaser Kia showed.
It’s hard to tell from a video, but the reporter mentioned the electric truck “seemed like it was just the right size.” Since the PV5 Passenger is 4,695 mm in length, 1,895 mm in width, and 1,899 mm in height, we can expect it to be about the same size. To give you a better idea, it’s slightly smaller than the Volkswagen ID.Buzz SWB.
More variants on the way
The electric truck, or open-bed variant, comes after we saw the PV5 “Conversion,” which will feature new models, including a light camper and a camper van.
We got a preview of the camper van after Kia revealed two new “Spielraum” PV5 concepts, including one with a refrigerator, microwave oven, and even a wine cellar. And then we got a look at the PV5 “WKNDR,” an “adventure-ready” electric van concept. Kia’s electric van even has a wheelchair-friendly version, the PV5 WAV.
What’s next? Kia plans to launch a full range of electric vans. Next up will be the larger PV7 in 2027, followed by the PV9 in 2029. There’s also a smaller PV1, expected to arrive in late 2026 or early 2027.
In the future, Kia plans ot launch a Robotaxi model through a collaboration with Motional. All PBV models will be built at Kia’s Hwaseong EVO plant in South Korea. The facility can build up to 150,000 vehicles annually.
Kia said its goal is to “design PBVs that are simple and intuitive to operate and engage with, regardless of where, when or how they are used.” In other words, Kia wants to make your life easier, “Whether the purpose of the vehicle is to transport people, move goods, or meet logistics or personal mobility needs.”
In the UK, the PV5 Passenger and Cargo models start at £32,995 ($44,000) and £27,645 ($37,000), respectively.
It’s available with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, offering WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo version gets slightly more range with 181 miles or 247 miles, respectively.
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