Apple has reportedly cancelled its plans to build electric vehicles a decade after the iPhone maker was rumoured to be working on the project.Many employees from the project will be moved to the iPhone maker's artificial intelligence division, according to Bloomberg News.The Apple car team was reportedly known as the Special Projects Group as part of its chief executive Tim Cook's Project Titan.
As it spent billions of dollars on research and development, the company was initially rumoured to be working on a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel and pedals."This is a smart and long awaited decision," Ray Wang, founder and chief executive of Silicon Valley-based consultancy Constellation Research told the BBC.
In recent months, US motor industry giants 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 did not expect any growth in its production this year.The company, which is led by multi-billionaire Elon Musk, has been cutting prices in key markets around the world, including Europe and China, as it faces tough competition from Chinese rivals such as BYD.
Mr Musk responded on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to a report that the Apple project was being wound down