Karl-Thomas Neumann
According to the ex-Opel boss, the rumors about Apple’s entry into the auto business make perfect sense.
(Photo: Canoo)
Düsseldorf For years, the US technology group Apple has been working on plans to enter the automotive market. After the “Project Titan” stalled for a long time, there are now reports that the Californian company is planning to enter the market in 2024. Whether as a manufacturer or software supplier is unclear.
Now that the established manufacturers in electromobility have to chase after Tesla’s disruptive appearance, another player with special expertise could now enter the market. Even with the future topic of autonomous driving. As a former Opel boss, Karl-Thomas Neumann knows the German car industry very well.
After a stint at the electrical start-up Canoo (formerly Evelocity) in the USA, he works from Germany as an investor, among other things. In an interview, Neumann explains why the local manufacturers have to take the initiative seriously.
Mr. Neumann, is Apple actually coming with a car? It’s possible, Apple is working on the subject all the time. The suppliers are already super annoyed. Apple always wants to know or have something from them, but on the other hand the company does not want to reveal its plans. I’ve seen it myself.
Please tell us. That was a good three years ago when I visited Apple for Project Titan. There were no signs and nothing else to see. Usually manufacturers want to impress suppliers, but there was only one conference room there. Even Apple employees don’t really know what’s going on because everything is so secret.
What could induce Apple to make concrete plans now? The car is turning into a software-defined product. In addition to Tesla, I see Nio and Xpeng as leaders, they all come from the software world and can build a reasonably reasonable car.
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