Apple Car is Dead, and China’s BYD Kills Rumours of U.S. Launch
In a somewhat shocking development, Apple is reportedly abandoning all plans to launch its own electric car, ending a decade-long suspense and new speculation that it could finally hit the market in 2028.
The iPhone maker has not yet made a public announcement, but sources close to the company have told various media outlets including Bloomberg and Automotive News that the news was shared internally on Tuesday.
- Also: BYD Overtakes Tesla For Most EV Sales
- Also: Apple Car Project Reportedly Scaled Back and Delayed Another Year
Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, along with “Project Titan” leader Kevin Lynch, informed the nearly 2,000 employees working on the car of Apple’s decision. That means we’ll likely never know what the Apple car would have looked like, or just how capable and expensive it would have been.
It appears that Apple is shifting its efforts to artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI. The company is not completely out of the automotive business, of course, with CarPlay taking on an increasingly large role in today’s and tomorrow’s vehicles.
Forget About BYD in the U.S.
Another twist rocked the EV world on Tuesday as Chinese giant BYD (Build Your Dreams) made it known that it doesn’t plan to launch cars in the U.S. despite a new Mexican factory about to begin construction right next door.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, executive vice president Stella Li killed rumours about BYD entering the U.S. market, saying “it’s too complicated if you’re talking about EVs.” She blamed politics—mostly the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) designed to promote locally built vehicles—as much as “confused consumers” not knowing which EVs to choose.
Li also said that the U.S. and other automakers are overreacting to electrification and are “a little bit too scared about a kind of Chinese competition.”
BYD sells a number of EV models covering all price points, from the super-cheap Dolphin to the immensey luxurious and sporty Yangwang U9.
