Bloomberg reports that Apple aims to launch an Apple-branded consumer-focused vehicle by 2026, with the car to reach a price point of under $100,000 to appeal to a wider customer base.
Apple originally planned to design a car similar to Canoo’s Lifestyle Vehicle that passengers would encounter in a limousine-style car without a steering wheel or pedals, but the project was scaled down. The vehicle will now have a more traditional design with driver’s seat, steering wheel and pedals and fully autonomous driving will not be available, but the car will be able to use self-driving mode on highways.
Apple’s main competitor will likely be Tesla, a brand with electric vehicles with some self-driving functionality. Prices for Tesla vehicles start at around $47,000, but can go up to over $100,000. If the base Apple Car is priced at or around $100,000, it will compete with Tesla’s high-end Model S. This is exactly what was expected from Apple.
The original plan was to set a price of over $120,000 for the “Apple Car”, but Apple is now planning a lower price point, possibly due to the more restricted autonomous driving functionality that will be included in the first version of the vehicle. Apple hasn’t completed a design for the Apple Car, but plans to have a design kit by 2023 and a list of ready-to-go features by 2024. Testing will begin in 2025 before the scheduled 2026 launch.
Apple continues to seek partners for the production of its car and has only had serious talks with Volkswagen so far, but those talks were many years ago.