In the latest round of speculation around Apple’s car project, German website Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung claims that the company’s secretive Berlin facility is staffed by 15 to 20 “top-class” employees of the German automotive industry. Sources familiar with the matter said the small team operates the lab as an incubator for ideas on future vehicles, after leaving traditional car companies where they were held back by management.
In addition to ideas about what the car will look like and how it will function, the team is said to also be focused on partnerships, government regulation issues, and sales concerns.
Since Apple lacks a network of dealerships, the company is said to be considering a vehicle-sharing business model similar to BMW’s DriveNow service. When the car will be ready for assembly is still an open question, but the report speculates that when it comes time for production, Apple will eventually contract with Magna Steyr, a company with experience assembling automobiles on behalf of other car makers.
[via Apple Insider]
.
