A new report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) revealed possible specs for Apple’s rumored electric vehicle, which could offer battery life on par with some cars from Tesla.
For starters, Kuo backs prior reports that the car will be built in partnership with Hyundai — specifically on its Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). Because Hyundai announced E-GMP a few months back, we have somewhat of an idea of what to expect from an Apple Car.
As far as range goes, Hyundai’s E-GMP can cover more than 300 miles on a full charge, while a five-minute charge gets you 60 miles of range. That’s not bad considering Tesla’s Model 3 has a range of 263 miles to 353 miles on one charge, depending on the configuration.
Meanwhile, fast-charging gives you up to 80 percent capacity in 18 minutes. Additionally, it can go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 160 mph.
But it’s important to note these specs are reserved for the “high-performance model.”
In terms of an expected release date, Kuo says that “Apple will launch the car in 2025 at the earliest.”
The new iPhone takes about 18–24 months from initial specification definition to mass production based on experience. Given the longer development time, higher validation requirements, more complicated supply chain management, and very different sales/after-sales service channels for the automobiles, we believe that Apple, which lacks car building experience, is already on a tight schedule if it wants to launch the Apple Car in 2025.
But that’s only if it relies on using parts from other automakers rather than attempting to build its own. Kuo says an EV has “about 40–50 times more components than each smartphone, so if Apple wants to build a complete automotive supply chain on its own, the Apple Car will be released significantly later than 2025…”
In December, Kuo said the Apple Car could launch between 2025 to 2027 or even later. Prior to that, he predicted it would come out between 2023 and 2025, while a report from Reuters targeted 2024.
Regardless of the different target dates, one thing is clear: we’ve got a very long time to go before any of us are riding around in an Apple Car.