Apple's work on the Apple Car has "lost all visibility" at the current time, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He says that if Apple does not adopt some kind of acquisition strategy to make inroads in the automotive market, it is unlikely that the Apple Car will be able to go into mass production "within the next years."
It is true that there have been few Apple Car rumors in 2023, giving us little insight into what Apple is up to at the current time. One recurring theme in Apple Car development has been reports of internal strife over the direction of the project and the ultimate goal of the Apple Car.
Prior rumors suggested that Apple would begin testing on the Apple Car in 2025, with Apple aiming to provide a vehicle to consumers in 2026, but now that we are closing in on 2024, it seems unlikely that Apple will make that timeline with how little we've heard about work on the Apple Car this year.
Apple seems to be putting a lot of focus on the Vision Pro headset at the current time, and the last Apple Car update came in March 2023. At that time, Economic Daily News suggested that Apple had made improvements to the self-driving capabilities of the Apple Car and was expanding its testing, but there's been no word since then.
Late last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple had significantly scaled back its Apple Car project and no longer had plans to release a fully autonomous vehicle. Apple was aiming to design a car without a steering wheel or pedals, but decided that such a plan is not feasible. Instead, the car will allegedly have guided driving features that work on highways, but will not operate on its own at all times.
Apple has not yet established a manufacturing partner for the Apple Car, so Kuo's suggestion that we may not see any sign of an Apple Car in the next few years without major changes makes sense.
