What's going on with the Apple Car? Here's all the latest developments on the tech company's plan to take on Tesla with a new electric car

Wondering what all the hubbub about the Apple Car is lately? A new report published by Bloomberg claims the tech giant has simplified its plans to release an electric car before the end of the decade - but with such sporadic information coming out about the 10-year-long project, we thought we’d cover off all the most recent developments and what we know so far about Apple’s foray into the automotive space.

The latest information, which Bloomberg says it has sourced from “people with knowledge of the project” is that Apple has scaled back its ambitions for a fully autonomous electric car with no steering wheel or pedals, to a more traditional design with what it calls ‘Level 2+’ autonomous driving features.

For those out of the know, we have a story on autonomous driving levels here, but level 2+ is essentially the same sort of semi-autonomous driving features currently available in cars with more advanced cruise systems, like the Tesla Model 3, much of the Mercedes-Benz range, or an increasing number of entrants to the automotive space from China.

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Apparently the new developments come after the CEO, Tim Cook, was pressed on progress on the car project from the company's board. Apple’s plans to build a car date way back to at least 2015, when a board member, Mickey Drexler, said Steve Jobs was inspired by Tesla to build what was then referred to as an “iCar.” Others state Jobs was interested in building a car as far back as 2008.

Regardless, in nearly 10 years very limited information has come out about the project, mainly from contracts to automotive suppliers, and significant hires and departures by automotive executives to and from Apple. These included a former Senior Vice President of Tesla, Doug Field.

In 2018, Apple made headlines for its investments in self-driving vehicles, but primarily on the software front, which involved fitting driverless systems to existing vehicles. By 2019, however, 200 employees were laid off from the team working on the car as part of what was then called a “restructure".

Apple's next-gen CarPlay tech will also reach deeper into the host car's systems, taking over the digital instruments and other screens for a unified experience.

The biggest recent news though was the brand entering major talks with Hyundai to build its cars. According to reports in Korean media, in 2021 Apple was working with numerous suppliers in South Korea, including those who supply semiconductors, displays and even batteries.

According to the report in The Korea Times, the suppliers it had talked with included LG, SK Group, and Hanwha, but the talks were said to be “in the early stages". The report also stated that Apple was interested in an LFP battery chemistry (the more affordable type used in BYD products) and that LG’s electric powertrain joint venture with Magna International was “very near to winning volume orders to produce Apples first-generation EV".

Some were even reporting that Apple might utilise Hyundai Group's e-GMP chassis which underpins the Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, however shortly afterward Hyundai Group confirmed talks with Apple had ended and they are no longer in negotiations.

Rumours were abound that Apple was looking to use Hyundai's e-GMP chassis for its car back in 2021.

Apparently production plans have been pushed back from 2024 to 2026, as previously reported by Bloomberg, with the latest report claiming production won’t be until 2028.

Apple is not the only big-name company scaling back its autonomous plans, with other bigger and more experienced automotive marques like Audi and Ford casting doubts on their ability to deliver on the tech in a reasonable timeframe. Tesla’s so-called ‘full self driving’ feature doesn’t actually fully self drive in its current form and planned upgrades to get it there have run behind schedule on multiple occasions. Several fatalities allegedly linked to the use of the system overseas have also landed Tesla in legal hot water.

Despite all these developments, acquisitions, hires and rumours, we still don’t have any firm details on exactly what kind of car Apple would be looking at building. Will it choose to emulate Tesla in re-inventing the classic three-box sedan, or will it try something entirely different. Hopefully we’ll know more before 2028.