As of: March 1, 2024, 8:00 p.m
By: Max Schäfer
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Apple is discontinuing its “Titan” car project.
German car manufacturers reacted with relief to the news.
But what does it mean for the industry?
Cupertino/Munich – Elon Musk is celebrating – and the German automotive industry is also breathing a sigh of relief: Apple’s decision to discontinue its “Titan” car project is bringing relief to the industry.
According to Handelsblatt
, Gabriel Seiberth is convinced that the decision shows “that all the doomsday scenarios that have been circulating about German car manufacturers and other established manufacturers for years are wrong
. ”
He is the European head of KPIT, a company specializing in car software.
Over for Apple Car: German car manufacturers' fears do not materialize
In recent years there have been fears that big tech companies are trying to enter the car market and control individual mobility via “robot cars”.
Car manufacturers such as BMW, VW and Mercedes-Benz would “only supply the sheet metal shells” for the systems, Seiberth describes
the earlier fears to the
Handelsblatt .
The car manager is convinced that the “dream of completely autonomous driving will never come true in my opinion.”
Only whoever manufactures the vehicle has control over all data.
Contrary to all fears, the industry expert believes that the business of German car manufacturers has not been essentially affected.
The reasons he cites are that the production of the vehicles cannot be scaled to the extent that manufacturers are used to and that the safety requirements are “many times” higher.
Apple and other tech companies would not have demoted car manufacturers to “pure hardware suppliers”.
Even after the Apple car has been phased out, BMW, VW and Co are under pressure
However, that was unrealistic anyway.
According to information from the
Handelsblatt,
Apple has negotiated this with VW, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The manufacturers could have built the Apple car to order.
In this regard: “No one has won.” According to
Handelsblatt,
this is the assessment of a former board member of a German car manufacturer.
Despite major investments: Apple is discontinuing car plans © Andrej Sokolow/dpa
Nevertheless, the auto industry remains competitive.
Electric cars are still expensive, there are not enough charging stations, incoming orders are weak and customers are unsettled, the
Handelsblatt
quotes an unnamed Mercedes-Benz executive as saying.
There is particularly strong competition from China in the area of electric cars.
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No competition for German car manufacturers: Why Apple is ending the “Titan” project
Apple announced the “Titan” project about ten years ago because it saw potential with automated taxis.
It wasn't until 2023 that the tech company finally expanded its efforts and tripled the kilometers driven on test drives.
However, according to Bloomberg
, which cites the analysis firm Guidehouse,
the development costs were very high at around a billion dollars per year.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also becoming a priority for the California-based tech company.
That should now be the focus.
A large proportion of the “Titan” project’s employees will be used in AI development in the future,
Bloomberg
reported .
This is the reason for the end of Apple's dream of the car.
However, Apple's decision does not mean that tech companies are staying out of the automotive industry.
The market remains interesting.
The necessary software is a determining element of future mobility, reports the
Handelsblatt
.
They would continue to try to get into the cars using operating systems, apps and AI assistants.
(ms)