Apple confirms hiring of Ulrich Kranz, former CEO of EV company Canoo

[TruckElectric]

Image Credits: Canoo

Apple has hired the former co-founder and CEO of electric vehicle company Canoo to help with the development of the Apple Car, Bloomberg first reported, citing unnamed sources. Apple has confirmed to TechCrunch it has hired Kranz, but did not provide further details into his job responsibilities or title.

Kranz resigned his position at Canoo in April after steering the company toward public listing and a new leadership team, and he is reported to have been scooped up by Apple within weeks. The news comes a couple of months after Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped hints that the mysterious Apple Car would include autonomous vehicle technology as a key feature. Hiring an executive with decades of experience at the cutting edge of the auto industry is a clear sign that Apple is moving ahead with its vehicle manufacturing plans.

As former senior executive of BMW AG’s electric car division, Kranz oversaw the development of the sporty electric i3 and i8 cars at BMW, which might give us a hint into the potential aesthetic of the future Apple Car. Anonymous sources say he’ll report to Doug Field, who runs the Apple Car project and previously led development of Tesla’s Model 3.

Apple is keeping a tight lip on its plans for its vehicle. According to a Reuters report from December, Apple intends to produce an electric passenger vehicle with “breakthrough battery technology” and automated vehicle technology by 2024. Other than that, no one knows what the car will look like or who, if anyone, will be the manufacturer, although it’s not outlandish to imagine Apple creating both the hardware and software.

SOURCE: TechCrunch


Hyperdrive
Apple Hires Former BMW Executive for Its Rebooted Car Project
Apple Inc. has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive at BMW AG’s electric car division, to help lead its own vehicle efforts, according to people familiar with the situation.

The technology giant hired Kranz in recent weeks, about a month after he stepped down as chief executive officer of Canoo Inc., a developer of self-driving electric vehicles. Before co-founding Canoo, Kranz was senior vice president of the group that developed the i3 and i8 cars at BMW, where he worked for 30 years.

Kranz is one of Apple’s most significant automotive hires, a clear sign that the iPhone maker is determined to build a self-driving electric car to rival Tesla Inc. and other carmakers. Kranz will report to Doug Field, who led development of Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 and now runs Apple’s car project, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter.

Ulrich Kranz at the AutoMobility LA auto show in 2019.
Photographer: Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo

Apple has become the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of more than $2 trillion, by selling iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macs and services. With investors and customers clamoring for new products, the company has targeted cars and augmented-reality headsets. An Apple spokesperson confirmed Kranz’s hiring.

Apple began developing a vehicle in 2014 but shelved the effort around 2016 to focus on an autonomous platform it could sell to other companies or eventually use itself. Along the way, Apple poached several Tesla executives, who now help head up drive-train engineering, self-driving software and interiors and exteriors.

Last year, Apple gave oversight of the operation to John Giannandrea, senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence and Field’s boss. Several months ago, Apple rebooted its efforts to develop a full-fledged electric car, but development remains in the early stages, so a launch is likely at least five years away.

Before hiring Kranz, Apple lost some key auto executives. Benjamin Lyon, Jaime Waydo and Dave Scott, who worked on engineering, safety systems and robotics, respectively, all departed in recent months. It’s unclear why the three left.

Following successful stints at BMW’s Mini division and teams working on sports cars and SUVs, Kranz was asked to run Project I, a battery-powered vehicle skunkworks started in 2008. It yielded the all-electric i3 compact and the plug-in hybrid i8 sports car. The former was panned by design critics, and production was very limited on the latter.

Kranz left BMW in 2016 and soon became chief technology officer at Faraday Future, an electric vehicle startup based in Los Angeles. He stayed only three months, before co-founding Canoo. Both firms have struggled with their technology and ability to produce vehicles, while Canoo reportedly discussed selling itself to Apple and other companies.

Canoo went public in December after a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, called Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. Canoo last month said it was being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, becoming the third clean-energy auto startup to disclose a federal probe in the past year. Canoo plans to debut a minivan for less than $35,000 next year.

Apple has worked with BMW for many years, integrating the iPod with auto infotainment systems back in 2004 and more recently making the iPhone double as a car key. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook was spotted checking out a BMW i8 outside Apple’s Cupertino, California, headquarters in 2014, and company executives have been known to visit BMW offices in recent years.

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG


Apple hires former Canoo CEO as it ramps up electric car project
Ulrich Kranz co-founded the EV startup and also helped run BMW’s i3 and i8 programs

Ulrich Kranz, a former BMW executive and the recently departed CEO and co-founder of EV startup Canoo, has been hired by Apple, the company has confirmed to The Verge. Kranz will reportedly work on the Silicon Valley behemoth’s electric car under Doug Field, the former Tesla executive who runs the day-to-day operations of the project, which is codenamed “Project Titan.” News of Kranz joining Apple was first reported by Bloomberg.

Kranz was one of the executives who helped launch BMW’s all-electric i3 hatchback and hybrid i8 sports car. Shortly after he left the German automaker at the end of 2016, he and fellow BMW executive Stefan Krause were tapped to help turn around struggling EV startup Faraday Future. The pair clashed with Faraday Future’s founder, though, and in late 2017, they left and formed what eventually became Canoo.

Kranz, Krause, and a handful of other expats from BMW and other legacy automakers came up with an all-electric van that they planned to sell on a subscription basis only, which they revealed in 2019. The van was designed around a compact, modular platform that included the battery pack, the electric motors, and basically all of the vehicle’s electronics, which Canoo hoped to sell or license to other manufacturers.

KRANZ WAS RUNNING CANOO WHEN IT HELD TALKS WITH APPLE IN 2020
Canoo’s EV platform pitch was attractive enough that Apple held talks with the startup in early 2020, as The Verge exclusively reported earlier this year. Talks between the two companies eventually broke down, though, as Canoo preferred to take an investment, while Apple was interested in an acquisition. Canoo also had an agreement with Hyundai to build vehicles based on the platform, but the startup has since walked away from that deal.

Kranz now finds himself near the top of a very large team inside Apple that is working on an electric, autonomous vehicle. Apple started the project in 2014, but it has gone through multiple revisions, with the company at one point focusing solely on developing autonomous technology. But over the last year, Apple has shifted back to trying to develop a vehicle and has reportedly held talks with multiple automakers as well as battery companies like China’s CATL.

Kranz was just one of a number of top executives who left Canoo over the last year. Krause, who was Canoo’s first CEO, departed last year. Canoo’s chief financial officer and its chief lawyer also left this year following the startup’s merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Five of the original nine co-founders remain with the company, while those who’ve left have been replaced by people close to the company’s new CEO, Tony Aquila, who took over after Canoo went public as a result of the SPAC merger.

Aquila has since pivoted Canoo away from the subscription model idea and is instead focused on creating commercial electric vehicles for small businesses. Aquila detailed the changes he was making to the company on Canoo’s first call with investors as a public company in March. Kranz was not on that call, despite still being CEO at the time. As The Verge first reported late last year, Kranz’s contract with Canoo was renegotiated as part of the SPAC merger.

SOURCE: THE VERGE

 

[Crissa]

Ahh, failing upward. The CEO prerogative.

-Crissa

 

[DarinCT]

I'm not sure what the holdup is. I'm guessing FSD but they are 3-5 years into development at this point and so far nothing. Hell, it took to December 2020 for Apple to even admit they were working on a car. We may never know the true story about the development process. At this rate, we may never know what the car actually looks like.

 

[TruckElectric]

Apple Car news — Apple reportedly in talks with battery suppliers
By Tom Pritchard 13 days ago

Apple's reportedly in talks with Chinese battery makers to power the Apple Car

The Apple Car was unsurprisingly absent from the WWDC 2021 keynote this week, but it’s still not forgotten. The latest we’re hearing is that Apple is reportedly in negotiations with Chinese battery makers to supply the power cells for Apple's first-ever electric car.


That’s according to a new report from Reuters, claiming Apple is talking to CATL and BYD. But there is a catch, and it seems Apple wants the batteries to be built in the U.S.

For those that don’t know, CATL is the world’s largest supplier of EV batteries, and currently supplies the batteries to some of the world’s largest electric carmakers, including Tesla, BMW, and Hyundai. BYD is the fourth-biggest, and partnered with Toyota last year to develop electric cars that appeal to drivers.

Reuters’ four sources, who asked not to be named, stressed that talks are still annoying. Discussions are still subject to change, and there’s no guarantee that the talks will be a success.

SOURCE: TOM'S GUIDE


Apple Eyes Battery Suppliers for Possible Electric Vehicle



Apple Eyes Battery Suppliers for Possible Electric Vehicle - MarketScale

According to reports from Reuters, Apple is in talks with Chinese companies BYD & CATL regarding car batteries, another indicator that the rumored “Apple Car” could be one step closer to reality. This could be big news for global electric vehicle production and competition, as well as introduce conflicting dynamics in the broader EV supply chain.

On this episode of MarketScale TV, Voice of B2B Daniel Litwin talked with Dr. Richard Kilgore, Associate Professor of Management and Business Administration at Maryville University,about Apple’s rumored car in the context of China’s EV footprint, understanding whether it’s viable to build relationships with Chinese suppliers as the country’s EV production continues to grow and its electrical components industrial sector seeks independence from US trade partnerships. Kilgore brings more than 20 years of experience as an industrial consultant to our conversation today, having worked with a wide variety of major firms, including British Aerospace and Boeing.

CATL is the world’s largest battery supplier, and any business decision from them will impact the larger EV supply chain and its competition, Kilgore explained. There’s always a chance a supplier becomes more powerful than the manufacturer themselves.

“That’s the case with electronic vehicles, we see that kind of strategic shift,” Kilgore said, “where the manufacturers are no longer the decision-makers in the industry.”

CATL already has a battery supplier relationship with Tesla, with an established presence supplying major components for US companies and their vehicles. However, CATL only supplies batteries to Tesla for cars made in China, and while Apple is reportedly pressing CATL to open a US manufacturing facility if it agrees to work with the Big Tech company, CATL has expressed concern about opening a facility on US turf.

“The more you understand negotiations between Chinese and US companies, there’s always this quid pro quo,” Kilgore said. “So to convince Tesla and Apple and any other US manufacturer of vehicles to use a CATL battery, there’s going to have to be something else in exchange for those batteries.”

Estimates by major banks HSBC and UBS show three out of five new cars sold in China will be electric by 2030, meaning the Chinese market itself, especially with its combination of public transit infrastructure, is ripe with interest in EVs. In our interview, Kilgore also offers analysis for how this market could play into an Apple EV production and launch strategy.

SOURCE: MarketScale

 

[TruckElectric]

Apple Car could change the way people think about vehicles

Lucid Air Interior

A multinational company like Apple Inc. has changed the way of using technology. Steve Jobs, the ex-CEO of the company, promised people that the products such as iPhone or iPods were going to be revolutionary. Undoubtedly he was right.

They are launching new and updated products every year, which are solving bigger issues than the previous versions. The company has successfully changed the concept of smartphones, smartwatches, headphones, and many more.

So, when there’s a rumor about Apple electric cars, then there are obviously more expectations from the brand. People are going gaga over the fact that Apple can reconstruct the way of how a car gets designed.

Let’s see how Cupertino (Apple’s HQ) can change the way people think about automobiles.

e-car concept | Lucid Air

Making the car-purchasing experience simple
Do you know when Steve Jobs rejoined Apple, he announced to discontinue all the Apple products and keep only four products? Yes, he simplified the buyers’ experience by giving them only four options: Pro laptop, Pro Desktop, Consumer Laptop, and Consumer Desktop.

Now, in the case of Apple electric cars, the choice can be simple. The features of cars might remain the same; however, people will get the options to choose cars of different colors and sizes. The cars might have different sizes of batteries and tires as well.

Another electric car owner company, Tesla, has already opted to sell the cars in iPhone-style. Apple will surely add some extra zing to increase their sell.

If you are a fan of Apple and are thinking about getting the electric car as soon as they launch it, you should start saving today. To make it easy for you, sell non-running cars to get some bucks.

Tesla app

Cars will have customized software
iPhones might look the same but they can be used for different purposes (gaming, photography, recording digital painting, etc) by installing compatible software. Apple has never dissatisfied its clients by not giving them the latest features every time they launch a new product.

Apple phones have Siri like a popular voice assistant system with Artificial Intelligence.
So, similar things can happen with their cars too. Apart from using AI in Apple cars, the thought of having customized software in a car is indeed intriguing. There are rumors about Apple AR glasses too. This makes a possibility that Apple cars might have in-car AR glasses to make the in-car display exceptionally wonderful.

Smoothening the travel experience
Apple has a tendency to launch such products which cooperate with each other seamlessly. That’s why Apple can successfully set up platforms like HomeKit, where you can control your smart-home appliances by using Apple devices like iPhone or iPad.

If Apple launches their electric car, then it’s a possibility that not only your car-driving experience but your traveling experience would also be smooth.

Just think wouldn’t it be a great experience if you can change the thermostat temperature from your car while you are driving? Even using Apple Pay or Wallet by Apple, the parking charge or a ticketing fine can be automatically deducted.

You wouldn’t have to worry about the security of your digital wallet; because everyone knows that Apple has a pretty tight security platform.

Apple car subscription

Tesla Model 3

As Steve Jobs started the Apple subscription model, the current CEO, Tim Cook, has taken it to another level. Apple offers many subscription plans such as iCloud, iTunes, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, and many more.

They can have a similar subscription plan for their cars too. As the automobile companies are leasing their cars for many years, Apple can also offer the same but in a more profound way.
You can get different subscription plans based on which type of cars you want to rent. You can also change or cancel the subscription according to your needs.

Basically, you can get a Lyft or Uber-type service but on a monthly basis. Apple can change the concept of having your own car even when it’s not needed.

Reconstructing transportation
Electric cars can obviously save the environment from pollution, but it is a fact that the cars take a big space out in the road. The transportation system is not perfect; mostly in dense cities like New York or LA, it becomes tough to reach somewhere easily because of the huge traffic.

People are expecting that Apple would look upon the problem and come with a smaller version of a vehicle that would not cost a fortune. This way, the vehicle would be more accessible and eco-friendly.

Apple can surely come up with some idea to design such cars that can solve peoples’ purpose and expectations.

Ultimate e-car technology

As the Apple car is yet to launch, there can be a probability that the above-mentioned things might happen. An autonomous vehicle is indeed a possibility; however, Apple needs to keep the car price affordable to its buyers; otherwise, all the expectations will go in vain.

On the other hand, everyone will be disappointed if the Apple cars are not proven to be the next-gen vehicles that have some innovative features.

However, it is also true that currently, Apple is the one valuable company that can only change the concept of cars. There is no other competition as of now.


SOURCE: APPLE MAGAZINE