Recently, Bloomberg and other media reports said that Apple COO Jeff Williams has issued an announcement within the company, most of the employees of the car department will be transferred to the artificial intelligence line, which marks the final abandonment of Apple's independent car-making program, causing a stir in the global market.
Although Apple has never formally disclosed the complete car building program, but currently known news shows that Apple's car building program has lasted for at least ten years, during which time the research and development investment amounted to billions of dollars. According to reports, Apple has been recruiting senior managers in the automotive industry since 2014, and in April 2017, it obtained the relevant license from the California government to start testing self-driving cars.In 2019, Apple acquired the self-driving car startup Drive.ai, and publicly stated that it was focusing on the research and development of the software part of the car. During this period, Apple has been granted a number of car-related patents, including VR technology that can slow down motion sickness, technology that adjusts window tint in real time, and so on. Currently, Apple has not publicly responded to this news.
With the widespread application of artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies, as well as the deepening of global consensus on the urgency of carbon neutrality targets, the new energy automotive industry is rapidly becoming an important engine of global economic development, and companies that can seize the technology and market high ground will undoubtedly be firmly in the spotlight in the coming decades. According to estimates, the global new energy vehicle market size of $388.1 billion in 2023 is expected to reach $951.9 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.7%. Among them, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, which are in the transition period of industrialization and have a large consumer population base, are most likely to become the most prosperous regions for the development of new energy vehicles.
Chinese companies with leading technological advantages and rich operational experience are undoubtedly becoming leaders in the global new energy industry. BYD, the global leader in new energy vehicles, has set up manufacturing plants in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and other regions around the world, and has repeatedly competed with Tesla for the industry crown. Premium new energy vehicle brands such as Azure, Xiaopeng and Ideal have followed suit, actively opening up gaps in the European market. In addition, SAIC Group's acquisition of British brand MG's, Geely Group's acquisition of Volvo and other overseas mergers and acquisitions have provided diversified ideas for Chinese car companies to go overseas. The market believes that Chinese companies with advantages in manufacturing costs, innovative technologies, market response speed, policy support and other dimensions will continue to lead the new trend of global new energy vehicle development.