SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc is working on an electric vehicle, according to people familiar with the matter, showing that the consumer electronics giant is open to stepping outside its lucrative focus on mobile devices.
Apple has put a few hundred employees to work on the secretive project, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Steve Zadesky, vice-president of iPhone product design, is leading the effort, the source said. Apple often tests ideas that don’t get released, and the effort work may not lead to the company introducing an automobile, the person added.
The project is code-named Titan and the vehicle design resembles a minivan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Some Apple executives had flown to Austria to meet with contract manufacturers of high-end cars, the report said.
Apple already has technology that may lend itself to an electric car and expertise managing a vast supply chain. The company has long researched battery technology for use in its iPhones, iPads and Macs. The mapping system it debuted in 2012 can be used for navigation.
Last year, Apple also introduced CarPlay, a software system that integrates iTunes, mapping, messaging and other applications for use by automakers.
Apple has batted around the idea of developing a car for years. Phil Schiller, senior vice-president for marketing, said in 2012 court testimony that executives had discussed building a car even before it released the iPhone in 2007.
Mickey Drexler, an Apple board member, also said in 2012 that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had wanted to build a car.
A representative of Apple declined to comment. The Financial Times reported earlier on Friday that Apple was hiring automotive experts to work at a new research lab.
Other Silicon Valley companies are also creating cars. Google is working on a self-driving vehicle. Tesla Motors makes electric cars and has hired at least 150 former Apple employees, more than from any other company, even carmakers.
"From a design philosophy, [Apple] is relatively closely aligned," Elon Musk, Tesla’s co-founder and CEO, recently told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview.
Musk also said Apple had been trying to poach employees from his company, offering $250,000 signing bonuses and 60% salary increases.
"Apple tries very hard to recruit from Tesla," he said. "But so far they’ve actually recruited very few people."