- By Mariko Oi
- Business Correspondent
image source, Good pictures
A decade after the iPhone maker was rumored to be working on the project, Apple has reportedly scrapped plans to build electric vehicles (EV).
The company never publicly acknowledged the plan, which involved about two thousand people.
According to Bloomberg News, several employees from the project will be transferred to the iPhone maker's artificial intelligence (AI) division.
Apple did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
The Apple Car team was part of its CEO Tim Cook's Project Titan, known as the Special Projects team.
With billions of dollars spent on research and development, the company was initially rumored to be working on a fully autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals.
The team is understood to be several years away from producing a vehicle.
“This is a brilliant and long-awaited decision,” Ray Wang, founder and chief executive of Constellation Research, a Silicon Valley-based consultancy, told the BBC.
“There is no market demand for EVs, AI is all the action,” he added.
Demand for EVs has fallen in recent months due to high borrowing costs, which has made the market increasingly competitive as major players try to win over customers.
In recent months, US automakers Ford and General Motors have postponed plans to expand EV production.
Last week, electric truck maker Rivian announced it would cut its workforce by 10% and said it expects no growth in production this year.
The company, led by multi-billionaire Elon Musk, has been cutting prices in key markets around the world, including Europe and China, as it faces stiff competition from Chinese rivals such as BYD.
