Apple Car Won't Be Fully Autonomous Self-Driving Vehicle, Launch Delayed to 2026: Report

Apple's longstanding plans to enter the automotive space with an ambitious electric vehicle have reportedly been put on the back-burner, with the official launch of the Apple car postponed to 2026, missing its expected 2025 target. In addition to the delay, the tech giant is also believed to be paring back plans of a fully self-driven car as present technology reportedly does not reconcile with the company's vision for a totally autonomous vehicle.

According to a Bloomberg report citing people with knowledge of the developments, the Apple car, internally known as Titan, has been delayed to 2026 and will not be a fully autonomous vehicle. Initial plans of a car without steering wheels and pedals have apparently been set aside for a more traditional design. The electric vehicle will still, however, support self-driving on highways.

The Cupertino-based company had projected its car to sell for over $120,000 (roughly Rs 1 crore) but is now looking to price the vehicle under $100,000 (roughly Rs 82 lakh), the report said. The Apple car doesn't have a final design yet and is reportedly in the “pre-prototyped” stage. The company now expects the vehicle to enter testing in 2025, as per the report.

Apple hasn't discussed its plans for a car in public, but the project remains an open secret in the tech and automotive industry as Apple has sought to hire top talent in the field over the years. “It's pretty hard to hide something if you hire over a thousand engineers to do it,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said in 2016 over Apple's plans to enter the electric vehicle space.

However, it hasn't been a smooth ride for Apple. A report in July detailed how the company's efforts to make self-driving car has hit roadblocks, with competitors like Tesla and Google's Waymo pulling ahead. Apple also hired Lamborghini veteran Luigi Taraborrelli earlier this year to help lead the design for the vehicle.