Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said on Twitter today that Apple’s team of employees working on the company’s long-rumored electric vehicles has been “disbanded for some time” and that a reorganization over the next three to six months is necessary in order to meet the demands of the company by 2025. Begin to be able to catch up with mass production of the car.
Apple’s electric vehicle plans have reportedly faced a number of setbacks since the project was approved in 2014, including several leadership changes. In November 2021, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple was accelerating work on the project, with the goal of launching an electric vehicle with fully self-driving capabilities. Gurman said at the time that Apple was targeting a 2025 launch, but that time frame could be pushed back due to schedule setbacks.
The Apple Car project team has been dissolved for some time. The reorganization within the next three to six months is necessary to achieve the goal of mass production by 2025.
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 15, 2022
Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of technology, took over leadership of the EV program last year, according to Grumman. Lynch, known for his work on the Apple Watch, has been with Apple since 2013 and before that was an executive at Adobe. Rumors of an Apple car have been rife, but if the team is successfully restructured, the car could launch in about three years at the earliest.