On February 28th, according to foreign media reports, citing internal sources, Apple has shelved and cancelled all development plans for autonomous electric vehicles. The Apple car project has been launched for over a decade, during which billions of dollars were invested, but it was ultimately decided that this is not a feasible project.

According to insiders, Apple disclosed the decision to internal employees on Tuesday local time in the United States, which shocked nearly 2000 employees involved in the project. It is reported that Apple's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Vice President Kevin Lynch, who is responsible for the project, made this difficult decision together.

These two executives informed employees that the project will gradually begin to scale down, and many members of the automotive team (i.e. Special Project Team, abbreviated as SPG) will be transferred to the artificial intelligence department, led by executive John Giannandrea. These employees will focus on driving generative artificial intelligence projects, which has become an increasingly important strategic focus for Apple.

The Apple automotive team also includes hundreds of hardware engineers and automotive designers, who may also face reassignment to other Apple teams. Apple will lay off employees, but the exact number of layoffs is not yet clear. Apple declined to comment on this news.

Market investors welcomed Apple's decision, and Apple's stock price rose after the report. At the close of the New York stock market, Apple's stock price rose about 1% to close at $182.63 per share.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also posted on social media website X congratulating Apple on its decision. He posted a post with a tribute emoji and a cigarette.

Apple's decision to reduce its car manufacturing project is undoubtedly a major decision, which means it has ended its multi billion dollar effort called the Project Titan, which aims to drive Apple into a completely new industry. Since around 2014, this technology giant has been developing cars with the aim of creating an autonomous electric vehicle with luxurious sedan interiors and voice navigation functions.

The Apple electric vehicle project has faced numerous difficulties since its launch, with frequent changes in team leadership and strategy. After the departure of former Ford Motor Company executive Doug Field, Lynch and Williams took over the business, but they ultimately failed to reverse the fate of the project.

There are still several years before Apple's car production, during which the company has explored numerous design solutions and faced enormous challenges in developing autonomous driving technology. Since 2017, Apple has been conducting road tests on Lexus SUVs and has tested dozens of cars across the United States. In addition, Apple also secretly tested some components on the Phoenix circuit, which used to belong to Chrysler.

However, market changes have brought greater pressure to Apple. As the electric vehicle market cools down, mainstream buyers' enthusiasm for pure electric vehicles gradually weakens, and sales growth loses momentum. Traditional car manufacturers such as General Motors and Ford have turned to the production of hybrid vehicles in the face of sluggish demand and production bottlenecks for pure electric vehicles. The entire industry is significantly lowering the prices, production targets, and profit expectations of pure electric vehicles.

Even Tesla, the pioneer of the American electric vehicle revolution, has not been spared, warning that this year's expansion rate will "significantly slow down". According to UBS Group's forecast, the growth rate of electric vehicle sales in the United States will sharply decrease from 47% in 2023 to 11% this year.

According to insiders, Apple's management has made this difficult decision in recent weeks. Just a month ago, there were media reports that the project was on the brink of survival. The latest plan discussed internally is to postpone the release of cars until 2028 and downgrade the specifications of autonomous driving technology from L4 level to L2+level. This project brings together elites from the entire automotive industry, including designers from well-known brands such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini, BMW, and Porsche.

As the project comes to an end, Lynch will turn to report to Jannandria. Previously, he had been reporting to Williams, who was also responsible for software engineering for Apple Watch.

In the later stages of the project, Apple envisioned keeping the pricing of this car at around $100000. However, executives within the company hold reservations about this, fearing that such a pricing strategy will weaken Apple's consistently high profit margins. In addition, the company's board of directors has expressed concerns about investing hundreds of millions of dollars annually in an uncertain project.

Apart from automobiles, Apple continues to invest heavily in other areas. Over the past five years, the company has invested as much as $113 billion in research and development, with an average annual growth rate of approximately 16%. In June 2023, Apple launched its first hybrid reality headset Vision Pro, the company's first groundbreaking new product in nearly a decade.

Apple has also abandoned multiple projects, including the TV production plan that was put on hold around 2015. However, the termination of this electric vehicle project is particularly eye-catching, not only because it has lasted for ten years, but also because it involves a large number of employees and consumes a huge amount of funds.

In the automotive industry, Apple's biggest achievement so far is its CarPlay software, which allows drivers to use iPhone features such as maps and Siri inside the car. Apple is committed to upgrading CarPlay to better integrate with vehicle control and entertainment systems. By establishing partnerships with car manufacturers rather than direct competition, Apple is able to drive the development of this software and has the potential to promote it to more car models.

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