Apple working on charging infrastructure for electric cars - report
Apple is talking with firms which provide vehicle charging stations and hiring engineers with experience in the field as it works on a means of charging its rumored electric car, a report claimed on Wednesday.
A mockup Apple Car design.
Apple is asking the charging station companies about the technology they use, a source explained to Reuters. The source noted that the discussions are not centered around providing charging stations for Apple employees.
Those firms are said to be wary about sharing too much information, however, since Apple could be a potential competitor.
While none of the companies contacted by Reuters would directly acknowledge dealings with Apple, the president of EVgo did say his firm was "in discussions with every manufacturer of today and every potential manufacturer of tomorrow." One anonymous engineering and construction firm has allegedly come to Apple offering its services.
Reuters noted that Apple has hired at least four people specialized in car charging, including some formerly with Google and BMW. One of them, Nan Liu, was hired in January and has previously researched wireless vehicle charging.
Charging infrastructure is a critical problem for electric cars, since while stations are becoming increasingly common in the U.S., they are still rare and people are less likely to buy an electric car if they can't be certain about driving range. California alone is expected to need as much as 25 times its current number of stations just to support 1 million vehicles by 2020.
Apple is believed to be developing an electric car for launch in 2019 or 2020, in a project codenamed Titan. It's unknown if Apple's charging technology will be compatible with other formats on the market, like Tesla's Superchargers, or if the company will push for a proprietary standard that might limit its market.
A mockup Apple Car design.
Apple is asking the charging station companies about the technology they use, a source explained to Reuters. The source noted that the discussions are not centered around providing charging stations for Apple employees.
Those firms are said to be wary about sharing too much information, however, since Apple could be a potential competitor.
While none of the companies contacted by Reuters would directly acknowledge dealings with Apple, the president of EVgo did say his firm was "in discussions with every manufacturer of today and every potential manufacturer of tomorrow." One anonymous engineering and construction firm has allegedly come to Apple offering its services.
Reuters noted that Apple has hired at least four people specialized in car charging, including some formerly with Google and BMW. One of them, Nan Liu, was hired in January and has previously researched wireless vehicle charging.
Charging infrastructure is a critical problem for electric cars, since while stations are becoming increasingly common in the U.S., they are still rare and people are less likely to buy an electric car if they can't be certain about driving range. California alone is expected to need as much as 25 times its current number of stations just to support 1 million vehicles by 2020.
Apple is believed to be developing an electric car for launch in 2019 or 2020, in a project codenamed Titan. It's unknown if Apple's charging technology will be compatible with other formats on the market, like Tesla's Superchargers, or if the company will push for a proprietary standard that might limit its market.
Comments
I am just thinking aloud and not suggesting Apple is planning to go it alone and offer a superior solution only for cars at the expense of themselves and everybody else. If any single company is big enough to take on a 'management' role here, it is Apple.
Yeah, that would work.
You probably missed the article, it was designed by people analyzing what they know if Apple and the Car.
I think it's a much better concept than slapping an Apple logo on a tesla. I don't believe the Apple Car would or should have an outdated design.
In a more perfect world, the U.S. govt would waive repatriation taxes on offshore money Apple would bring in to invest in recharge infrastructure.
Of course Big Oil would kill that before the ink dried on the proposal.
Should you wish to charge your Apple car from other sources, you will have to buy dongles at $2890 each. You would probably need at least 2; one for domestic charging and the other to use 'rival' rapid charging stations.