The Apple Car has made headlines frequently over the last few weeks and now a new report on the likely battery electric vehicle platform might have inadvertently leaked many of the key specs for at least one model. Although the suggestion that Apple is working on a car has circulated for years now, recent reports have intensified the rumor, suggesting the reality of an Apple Car is starting to get closer.
The Apple Car rumor momentum picked up back in December when a lone report suggested the first model could arrive as early as 2024. Since then, other reports have come through suggesting it may take longer than the original report indicated, due to the various elements needing to fall in place, including which car-maker Apple will ultimately partner with.
As reported by 9to5 Mac, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently provided a research note with some updated expectations on the Apple Car, including the likelihood of it being powered by the E-GMP platform. Essentially, this has led to the suggestion that an Apple Car could be capable of driving up to 300 miles (500km) on a single charge, travel at a top speed of 160 mph (260kph), and go 0-60 mph (0-100kph) in less than 3.5 seconds. However, what might be the most impressive suggestion is an Apple Car could be capable of receiving an 80-percent charge in around eighteen minutes, or gain 60 miles worth of power on the back of a quick five-minute charge.
Apple Car Partner Likely To Be Hyundai?
Technically, the main reveal in the report is that Hyundai is likely to be the car company partnering with Apple and that the car will use its E-GMP platform. As 9to5 Mac points out, this is already a known platform, making the likelihood of the top specs mentioned being applicable to the Apple Car more of a reality. That is, providing Hyundai does end up partnering with Apple. Even if the E-GMP platform suggestion is accurate, a partnership with the Hyundai brand still may not happen. There have been some suggestions that Hyundai is skeptical of taking on the Apple Car, with its preference thought to be a partnership with its Kia subsidiary instead. Like Hyundai, Kia is also working on a number of electric vehicles using the same E-GMP platform.
There are some other caveats to this as well, with the main one being these are the top specs one should expect from the E-GMP platform. This raises the question of actually how well the Apple Car will be optimized for E-GMP. For example, multiple aspects, including the vehicle’s design, are likely to impact on the range and top speed, making these figures the upper-most limit that the first-generation Apple Car would likely be capable of.
In terms of when, the latest report did touch on this point as well, albeit not necessarily to any majorly significant degree. While previous reports have pointed to as early as 2024 and as late as 2028, Kuo suggests 2025 will be the earliest Apple’s electric vehicle will arrive to market. That time-frame came with the additional warning of being based on Apple sticking to a “tight schedule” and opting to rely on Hyundai’s automotive supply chain more than it might want to.
Source: 9to5 Mac