Apple car on track for 2025 debut

Apple is racing to develop its electric car for an introduction in 2025, according to new reports that have surfaced from people working closely with the tech giant.

According to Bloomberg, engineers hope the Apple car's driverless tech will be so advanced it will have neither a steering wheel nor pedals.

This radical approach, the newswire claims, will help designers maximise the space available within the cabin.

Following the revelation, iPhone shares rose almost three per cent to record highs.

Beginning life as Project Titan back in 2014, the Apple car has been subject to many false starts, but increasing demand and the success of car-makers like Tesla have galvanised support within the Californian-based company to have a crack at car-making.

Interestingly, according to Bloomberg, employees working on the standalone Apple car are sceptical about being able to meet the tech firm's early 2025 deadline, such are the challenges involved with developing a fully autonomous car, even with the huge advances in processor chips and sensors.

Originally, earlier reports suggested that Apple was aiming for an even more ambitious 2024 launch date.

Back in January this year, Hyundai Motor was rumoured to have agreed to a deal with Apple to outsource production of the Apple car to one of its existing US plants from 2024.

After its share price rallied, the Korean car-maker was forced to issue a statement that early-stage talks had led nowhere.

Last month, news broke that a fresh deal had been forged with a Taiwanese auto group owned by Foxconn (which already has strong links with Apple), with the tech giant's new car potentially built on Foxconn architecture.

Foxconn has already agreed to mass-produce the pure-electric Lordstown Endurance pick-up at a US factory in Ohio.

The same plant is said to have plenty of extra capacity to build a second EV that could be the advanced Apple car.