What about that Apple car — on sale in 2019?

By Wes Raynal, Crain News Service

CUPERTINO, Calif. (Sept. 30, 2015) — Word in Silicon Valley is that Apple Inc.'s tech gurus are going to have an electric car ready to roll in 2019.

The Wall Street Journal reported the company has internally designated an electric car as a “committed project.” It is codenamed “Titan,” and the paper said Apple is raising the number of people working on it from 600 to 1,800, as it lures engineers from Volkswagen A.G., Tesla Motors and other companies.

Apple is known for keeping its future products secret almost as much as it's known for the iPhone. Indeed, the company hasn't confirmed it is working on a car, even though it's lured dozens of EV and autonomous-driving engineers from the likes of VW and Tesla. For example, Automotive News, a sister publication of Tire Business, reports that Apple has hired Megan McClain, a former VW engineer with expertise in automated driving, and Vinay Palakkode, a graduate researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, a hub of automated driving research.

According to a LinkedIn post, Apple also hired Jamie Carlson, a senior engineer from Tesla, according to Automotive News.

Apple boss Tim Cook appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” but wouldn't bite. “We look at a number of things along the way,” Mr. Cook said in response to Mr. Colbert's questions, “and we decide to really put our energies into a few of those.”

The Journal pointed out that the car's ship date doesn't mean customers would receive it then, but it could mean 2019 is when engineers sign off on the car's main features. The paper also said even people within the team think 2019 is too soon.

The Journal also said the first car is an EV, but not an autonomous EV — that comes later.

It's unclear if Apple is going it alone developing its car or seeking a partner, according to the Journal, which pointed out that Apple uses Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. to build most iPhones.

This report appeared on the website of Autoweek magazine, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.