Apple Car coming 2025 at the earliest, says Kuo

A new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple Car might still be years away.

In a note seen by iMore, Kuo notes recent media reports that Apple could launch a self-driving car next year, or perhaps in 2024. From a recent Reuters report:

Since then, Apple has progressed enough that it now aims to build a vehicle for consumers, two people familiar with the effort said, asking not to be named because Apple's plans are not public. Apple's goal of building a personal vehicle for the mass market contrasts with rivals such as Alphabet Inc's Waymo, which has built robo-taxis to carry passengers for a driverless ride-hailing service.

Kuo, however, states that whilst Apple Car does have some chance of success, the recent rise in stocks fuelled by reports is a "short-term phenomenon" and that buying stocks in the sector on the back of these reports is "extremely" risky.

Kuo notes specifically the car's uncertain launch schedule. Kuo says that reports are "too optimistic", and that the development schedule of Apple Car is very unclear. Even if everything goes smoothly, it could be 2025-2027 before a car is announced or released. Kuo further notes that it could even be 2028 or later.

Kuo does note that Apple has a "variety of competitive advantages" in the sector, but that it has previously struggled to enter new markets like the smart speaker sector.

Recently the CEO of Volkswagen Herbert Diess welcomed reports of an Apple Car stating Apple's "virtually unlimited" resources would help transform the industry.