Apple Plans to Venture Into the Automobile Industry
SAN FRANCISCO: After computers, phones and watches, the tech giants are all gearing up a team to venture into the Automobile Industry.
Apple Inc. has garnered upto 200 people in the past two years from within its company and other potential companies like Tesla, Toyota and A123 Systems. According to New York Times report, they hope to develop an electric car, which already in a prototype phase. However, it will take few more years before it is declared as a viable product that could be launched.
Apple has begun its aggressive hiring spree to fasten their entry into the industry. Infact, A123 systems, a company that makes car batteries has filed a lawsuit against them alleging that they “embarked on an aggressive campaign” to poach their employees. “Upon information and belief, Apple is currently developing a large scale battery division to compete in the very same field as A123,” A123 Systems alleged in their lawsuit said.
Presently, Apple has had long-term partnerships with esteemed automakers like BMW and Volkswagen customizing their systems compatible with iPods inside cars.
According to experts, their entry into the Automobile Industry is seen risky, since the market does not have the sales margin compared to its products like iPhones, Macbook etc.