Rumor has it that Apple is apparently considering setting its foot in the car industry and is accelerating its efforts to build an electric car, code-named Titan.
Earlier reports suggested that the Cupertino company has set a target shipping date as 2019 for the project Titan and has given leaders of the “committed project” approval to triple their 600-person team.
Now, latest report on the subject from Jefferies & Co.’s Sundeep Bajikar, published by Barron’s, says that Apple Car will likely cost $55,000 and ship 200,000 cars in the first year.
Bajikar says that his “analysis suggests the automobile industry is ripe for disruption and Apple is well positioned to introduce a Car, potentially as early as 2019.”
He believes Apple is, indeed, working on a car, which could yield earnings per share benefit of 32 cents and could:
“1) Increase potential for longer term revenue and profit growth,
2) Fend off ecosystem threats posed by Google Car, and
3) Leverage and extend its premium brand image by introducing a new category that we think consumers are likely to be interested in.”
According to reports, in May, Apple employees met with officials from GoMentum Station, a high-security testing ground for autonomous vehicles. Subsequently in August, Apple’s senior legal counsel met with officials from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The department remained most muted on what was discussed at the August meeting, beyond saying that “the Apple meeting was to review [the] DMV’s autonomous vehicle regulations.”
