Apple Car coming 2025 at the earliest, says Kuo

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What you need to know

  • A new research note from Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple's rumored car is still years away.
  • He claims it will be launched in 2025 at the earliest, but perhaps later in 2028 or beyond.
  • A recent report said Apple car could debut as early as 2024.

A new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple Car might still be years away.

In a note seen by iMore, Kuo notes recent media reports that Apple could launch a self-driving car next year, or perhaps in 2024. From a recent Reuters report:

Since then, Apple has progressed enough that it now aims to build a vehicle for consumers, two people familiar with the effort said, asking not to be named because Apple's plans are not public. Apple's goal of building a personal vehicle for the mass market contrasts with rivals such as Alphabet Inc's Waymo, which has built robo-taxis to carry passengers for a driverless ride-hailing service.

Kuo, however, states that whilst Apple Car does have some chance of success, the recent rise in stocks fuelled by reports is a "short-term phenomenon" and that buying stocks in the sector on the back of these reports is "extremely" risky.

Kuo notes specifically the car's uncertain launch schedule. Kuo says that reports are "too optimistic", and that the development schedule of Apple Car is very unclear. Even if everything goes smoothly, it could be 2025-2027 before a car is announced or released. Kuo further notes that it could even be 2028 or later.

Kuo does note that Apple has a "variety of competitive advantages" in the sector, but that it has previously struggled to enter new markets like the smart speaker sector.

Recently the CEO of Volkswagen Herbert Diess welcomed reports of an Apple Car stating Apple's "virtually unlimited" resources would help transform the industry.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9