Industry insiders are speculating that Apple is considering entering the car industry, joining Google and Tesla Motors in the production of electric cars. According to experts, the company has been recruiting employees from several different auto-related companies and one has filed suit against the technology giant for poaching staff members.
Although Apple is still silent on a move toward the auto industry, they announced earlier this month that they had hired Johann Jungwirth as Director of Mac Systems Engineering. Jungworth is the former CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development. In addition to Jungwirth, Apple has hired five top executives from A123, a company that specializes in lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars.
A123 has filed suit against Apple claiming that the technology company has hired high-level staff despite a non-compete clause in their contract. In addition, employees at A123 are forbidden from recruiting other staff members to other companies after they leave employment with the battery company.
Apple contends that the new resource lab established in recent months is to focus on car-related electronics. However, the product being developed in the secret resource lab has a code name — Titan — and many experts claim that it would be the next logical step for Apple to enter the electric car industry.
It is believed that Apple wants to enter the vehicle industry to have better control over how their electronic products are used. The car would showcase technology that may not be available to other car manufacturers. Apple has stepped into the automotive industry with the recently released CarPlay which will be available for vehicles and smartphones in the near future.
Although Apple is being extremely secretive about the possibility of an iCar, many industry insiders point to evidence that the electronics company may be poised to revolutionize that industry much as they did the entertainment industry.
