Rumors Swirl That Apple Is Secretly Developing Its Own Car

You already have an iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air, and, let’s face it, you’ll probably buy an Apple Watch. But would you buy an Apple car?

According to a new report from Britain’s Financial Times, you may eventually be able to. The Financial Times says that Apple is hiring experts from the automotive industry to work in a secret lab near its Silicon Valley campus.

The report states that none other than Apple’s senior vice president of design, Jonathan Ive, iconic designer behind the iPhone and iPad, has been meeting with auto industry heads, even hiring an executive from Mercedes-Benz’s research and development division.

At least one of the Financial Times sources who has worked closely with Apple said that they believe the company is working on a car of its own.

This isn’t exactly out of the blue either. In his biography about Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson recounted how Jobs wanted the company to develop its own car.

Apple isn’t a stranger to the auto industry either. Its CarPlay, which allows you to control your iPhone via your car’s dashboard, is already available across a host of automakers ranging from Ferrari to Ford.

But developing software and building a car are two completely different things. As the Financial Times article points out, Apple has no means to manufacture a vehicle, so it would have to either build an auto plant or contract with another company.

What’s more, creating a viable automotive brand isn’t exactly easy: Just ask Elon Musk, whose Tesla is struggling in China.

So will Apple develop its own car? It’s looking a bit more likely, but even if the company has something in the works, we’ll still have to wait years for any kind of iPhone on wheels to hit the road. Don’t go selling your Maxima just yet, Apple fans.

via: Financial Times

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+ here.