Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been vocal about Apple’s secretive Project Titan. Last year, he even suggested it would make sense for the Cupertino company to buy Tesla. Now the analyst who closely tracks Apple has said that the rumored Apple car would be unveiled in 2019 or 2020, but deliveries won’t begin until 2021. Priced at around $75,000, it will compete directly with Tesla’s premium vehicles.
Apple car may be manufactured on a ‘contract basis’
Apple is reportedly working on an electric car with autonomous driving capabilities. Speaking to Apple Car Fans, Munster said showing off the vehicle one or two years before launch would help Apple “hold up the market in anticipation.” The electric vehicle is going to target the high-end of the market. Apple will design the car itself, but may outsource manufacturing to established automakers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month that he envisioned a future where established automakers would build cars “on a contract basis for someone else.” Though the tech giant has been tight-lipped about its potential foray into the automobile industry, the company has leased several real estate properties and hired more than a thousand auto engineers for the Apple car project.
Apple unlikely to abandon Project Titan
Gene Munster doesn’t think Apple would abandon the electric car project because it represents the next major source of revenue growth for the tech giant. Building cars is much more complex than making smartphones. The Cupertino company has held meetings with several automakers, but it is still unclear who Apple would partner with.
Earlier this month, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said his company was willing to partner with Apple in its car project. Marchionne, a self-proclaimed “Apple freak,” said Fiat Chrysler understands Apple’s “syntax,” which was way more important than an automaker’s ability to build cars.
Electric vehicles account for a small part of the total automobile sales. But their share is expected to go up in the future as consumers move to clean energy in the future.
