Apple to partner with rental car company Hertz on small fleet of self-driving vehicles - r...
Apple's in-house self-driving vehicle technology will reportedly hit the road in a limited partnership with rental car provider Hertz, giving Apple the ability to put its technology to the test and expand its presence on the streets in a highly public way.
The alleged partnership in the works was first revealed by Bloomberg on Monday. The news came just hours after Google's parent company Alphabet revealed it will partner with rental car company Avis for its own self-driving fleet.
Apple will reportedly lease a "small fleet of cars" from Hertz to test its self-driving technology. Specifically, Apple is said to be testing Lexus RX450h SUV models leased from Donlen, a Hertz-owned fleet management company.
The partnership could prove to be a major step forward for "Project Titan," as until now only about a half-dozen Apple autonomous vehicles have been tested on public roads.
Later Monday afternoon, CNBC chimed in with its own report, specifically claiming that Apple is leasing six cars from Hertz's Donlen. In all, that would double the number of cars Apple actually has on the road, to a still relatively small dozen total autonomous vehicles on public roads.
It's unclear whether the partnership will simply allow Apple to test the waters with more cars on the road, or whether and when the vehicles will be available for rent by Hertz customers.
Regulatory requirements for self-driving vehicles have forced Apple's hand, prompting the company to file for a permit for its technology with California's Department of Motor Vehicles earlier this year. The process has led to more details about the efforts, known internally as "Project Titan," than Apple usually reveals about upcoming products and services.
Still unknown is whether Apple plans to build its own car, or simply make the brains behind a self-driving platform.
The alleged partnership in the works was first revealed by Bloomberg on Monday. The news came just hours after Google's parent company Alphabet revealed it will partner with rental car company Avis for its own self-driving fleet.
Apple will reportedly lease a "small fleet of cars" from Hertz to test its self-driving technology. Specifically, Apple is said to be testing Lexus RX450h SUV models leased from Donlen, a Hertz-owned fleet management company.
The partnership could prove to be a major step forward for "Project Titan," as until now only about a half-dozen Apple autonomous vehicles have been tested on public roads.
Later Monday afternoon, CNBC chimed in with its own report, specifically claiming that Apple is leasing six cars from Hertz's Donlen. In all, that would double the number of cars Apple actually has on the road, to a still relatively small dozen total autonomous vehicles on public roads.
It's unclear whether the partnership will simply allow Apple to test the waters with more cars on the road, or whether and when the vehicles will be available for rent by Hertz customers.
Regulatory requirements for self-driving vehicles have forced Apple's hand, prompting the company to file for a permit for its technology with California's Department of Motor Vehicles earlier this year. The process has led to more details about the efforts, known internally as "Project Titan," than Apple usually reveals about upcoming products and services.
Still unknown is whether Apple plans to build its own car, or simply make the brains behind a self-driving platform.
Comments
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/26/hertz-shares-soar-after-report-apple-working-to-manage-small-autonomous-fleet.html
Gotta learn to walk before you drive so it absolutely makes sense for Apple to proceed cautiously and deliberately.
I suspect that Hertz is behind the news (but not without Apple's blessing), needing to answer the Avis announcement from earlier in the day. Both Hertz and Avis stock have suffered badly in recent years, but Avis got a very nice bump from their announcement, and Hertz stockholders should be a bit happier today as well as long as they cash in quickly.
Maybe Apple is going to install some unobtrusive self driving tech in Hertz rental cars. Not to give them autonomous abilities, but simply to gather data. Thousands of cars being driven by regular people would provide a wealth of information. And Hertz, by allowing this into their vehicles, might get early access to whatever Apple is planning to release.
TBH doing everything "in secret" is just the opposite of what you should want. If/When Apple's automotive technologies come to a vehicle near you it should be with the assurance that every system was thoroughly tested, no "bugs and failures and incidents" hidden from the public who will be on the road right alongside them. There should be zero doubt the hardware and the software is 100% ready for the road and certified as such by regulators with consistent testing procedures, not special rules for a particular company.
Safety should trump secrecy and even profit.
Thats a lot of typing to A) completely miss my point,
Since Apple apparently can't keep things secret due to regulatory filings, then perhaps you can explain to us EXACTLY what Apple has planned regarding self driving automobiles.
- Are they going to manufacture their own car?
- If so, are they going to build their own plants or get involved with an existing carmaker to build it for them?
- Or is Apple going to make a huge play and acquire an established company (like BMW)?
- Are they going to provide a complete turnkey autonomous driving solution manufacturers can add to their own vehicles?
- Or are they going to provide certain key components only (like software or processing)?
- Is Apple even doing this for a consumer purchased vehicle or are they going after "public" transportation (like something to replace taxis and car-share programs)?
The bottom line is there's still plenty we don't know about their future plans. The only thing we know for sure is they're doing "something" in this space. Whatever that is remains a secret.
If the databus for the vehicle controls is better exposed and/or Lexus Engineering is volunteering to make it so, who cares if the car radio isn't mind melding with your phone.
The inital phase will will probably be:
Apple tech + Lexus SUV + Hertz
While the self driving tech is road tested on a limited scale by Hertz, Apple can finish the design of the Apple Car.
The second phase will be:
Apple Car + Didi Chuxing(China)
The third phase will be:
Apple Car + Apple Ride sharing(Rest of the world)