Tag: electric

Apple Car Launch Delayed to 2028; to Arrive With Limited Self-Driving Capabilities: Report

Apple has reportedly modified its plans to build an electric vehicle (EV) as the company scales back its ambitions for its first car. While the iPhone maker was previously expected to develop and launch a ‘driverless’ car similar to Tesla’s vehicles, it will now focus on launching an EV with a few connected car features, according to a report. As the company faces new challenges, the launch date for its first vehicle is also said to be delayed by another two years.

Citing people with knowledge of the project, Bloomberg reports that Apple’s project to build its own car — bearing internal names like Titan and T172 — started nearly a decade ago, but the car is unlikely to be launched before 2028. Apple’s board reportedly pressured the company after millions of dollars were spent in research and development for hardware and software, without a prototype, according to the report. 

Apple has also reportedly scaled back its ambitions to launch a self-driving car at Level 5 (Full automation) — the most advanced form of automated driving envisioned by experts — to Level 4 (Fully automated driving) and finally settling on Level 2+ (Partly automated driving). Level 2 is what other carmakers such as Tesla currently offer via its Autopilot feature.

This means that if Apple is able to launch its EV by 2028, the vehicle can be expected to offer similar functionality as Tesla’s Autopilot mode that requires drivers to be seated and keep monitoring the road, so that they can take control of the vehicle at a moment’s notice.

However, it is currently unclear whether Apple will be able to launch its first electric car within the next four years. The purported deadline has already slipped by two years to 2028, despite a change in plans to reduce the autonomy of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Chinese rival Xiaomi unveiled its first EV last month — the SU7 electric car. Xiaomi Chief Executive Lei Jun said during the car’s launch event in December that the firm plans to become one of the world’s top 5 automakers.

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Xiaomi’s First-Ever Electric Vehicle ‘Modena’ Spotted Being Tested in Extreme Cold Conditions: Report

Xiaomi announced in 2022 that it would foray into the electric vehicle segment with the introduction of its first such EV scheduled for some time in 2024. According to a new report, the electric vehicle codenamed ‘Modena’ has been spotted being tested in snow and ice weather conditions in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, as suggested by leaked images revealed by the publication. According to the report, the Chinese manufacturer could be testing the electric vehicle’s battery performance in extreme cold conditions, and the effects of such conditions on the vehicle’s range.

According to the report by ArenaEV, Xiaomi’s upcoming and first-ever electric vehicle has been spotted being tested in extreme cold weather conditions in a location that is thought to be in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The report, citing a Chinese blogger, also suggested that Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun had joined the Xiaomi test-driving team for this. The company executive has previously been spotted expressing his enthusiasm in pushing the electric vehicle project to its goal, added the report.

The company executive had previously also shared Xiaomi’s first progress report on the Xiaomi Pilot Technology project for autonomous driving. The company had pledged to invest RMB 3.3 billion (nearly Rs. 3,897 crore) and hired over 500 experts from around the world to develop the in-house autonomous driving technology.

Xiaomi is also expected to invest another RMB 2 billion (nearly Rs. 2,400 crore) in the second phase of the project which will include ten upstream and downstream enterprises in the autonomous driving field, under which Xiaomi is expected to be in charge of core sensors, core actuators, domain controllers, and more.

Xiaomi Pilot Technology project is working to build a fleet of 140 test vehicle in its first phase. According to the ArenaEV report, Xiaomi had earlier been using BYD Han cars as test vehicles for its Xiaomi Pilot Technology testing. However, recently, the company was spotted using its own vehicles for testing on Chinese roads, and this is when the codename Modena came into the picture, added the report.

The latest images suggest that the Xiaomi Modena electric vehicle is a sedan, and will feature an aerodynamic shape complimented by a long hood and swooping roofline that drops gently toward the back of the car. The images also suggest ubiquitous retractable door handles and LiDAR sensors on the roof of the vehicle.

The Xiaomi Modena is tipped to be made available in three variants, with the first two entry models utilising BYD LFP ”blade” batteries, while the top-end model is expected to feature a CATL Qilin battery. Meanwhile, infotainment on the Modena is expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest 8295 chips which offer 30 TOPS of NPU computing power, added the report.

Xiaomi is expected to price the electric vehicle between $38,350 (roughly Rs. 31,20,500) and $51,650 (roughly Rs. 42,02,600), according to the report.

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