If Apple announced the Apple Car, it could be the greatest revolution to the automotive industry yet
Listen very carefully and you’ll hear laughter coming from the offices of the big car companies around the world. Apple, famous for iPhones, iPads, iTunes and maybe even a watch, is apparently looking to produce a car! Whatever next?
Well actually, if you listen a little closer, it’s nervous laughter you’ll hear. If Project Titan really is under way, then the car industry has every reason to be worried. When Apple decides to do something, it doesn’t do it by halves.
That hasn’t stopped some people scoffing at the idea, though – former GM exec Dan Akerson told Bloomberg: “They’d better think carefully if they want to get into the hard-core manufacturing.
“We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into car. They have no idea what they’re getting into if they get into that.”
But who says it has to be made from steel? That’s so last year. Apple’s car would likely feature the latest construction techniques, the most advanced self-driving features, class-leading connectivity and look pretty damned cool, too.
And with several senior members of the Apple crew already having significant car company experience (Senior VP Eddy Cue is on the board of Ferrari and designer Marc Newson has previous with a Ford concept car) the idea looks less and less far-fetched. More rumours suggest Apple is actively targeting people who’ve worked in the car business.
Then there’s the cash – Apple has lots of it. And then some. It has the sort of money to spend that car companies would dream of, certainly enough to fund development, build and marketing of a brand new car or three.
But those miserablists in the car business will tell you the margins on a car are way less than on an iPhone. Yes, especially if you have a legacy of old factories and an outmoded distribution model. Apple could change all that and probably would. After all, an Apple store is a far more welcoming place than your average car dealership.
Tesla has proved there’s a demand for exciting new cars with new technology, while BMW took a brave pill with its critically acclaimed i3 and i8 models. Neither projects are making cash, but it’s a long game both are fully aware of – and neither has the cash reserves Apple can call on.
There’s no doubt that if Apple does decide to become an auto maker, it’ll be its biggest challenge to date. But if Google can, Apple can – and that’s another huge incentive, Apple won’t want to be beaten by Google.
So will we see an Apple car? I genuinely hope so, because the consumer genuinely hopes so. And because I can’t wait to see how the car business reacts – as it will and as it needs to.
Kodak didn’t seem to take digital photography seriously back in the nineties and look at it now. And why didn’t camera makers think about putting phones in their products before phone makers added cameras to theirs – who’s the strongest now?
I wouldn’t want to be part of a car business that thought complacency was the best way to react to Apple’s reported plans. History shows that’s a very bad idea indeed…
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