It’s been an exciting week for Apple’s electric car program. On Monday, we reported that the tech firm had set up a secret development lab in Berlin, Germany, fueling rumors that the Apple Car may not be built in America. Despite the fact that Apple has yet to confirm the venture officially, “Project Titan” is making waves yet again.
Electrek reports that Apple has hired Chris Porritt, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, to work on “special projects.” If you’ve been keeping tabs on our Apple Car rumor roundup, you’ll know that the alleged leader of Project Titan, Steve Zadesky, departed from Apple earlier this year, creating a high-profile vacancy at the top of Apple’s automotive aspirations.
Porritt’s experience in the automotive space is vast. His three-year tenure at Tesla was relatively short — he reportedly worked on the platforms for the Model S, Model X, as well as the chassis for the Model 3 — but before that, Porritt spent nearly 16 years at Aston Martin as a chief engineer. He helped design the incredible One-77 supercar there, and before that, he cut his teeth as a boffin for Land Rover.
If the report rings true, this is a huge boost for Apple’s growth as a burgeoning car brand, one that gives the firm a stronger connection to the automotive industry than ever before. In addition, Porritt’s understanding of electric and self-driving vehicles will be invaluable to the Cupertino, California tech giant, as the Apple Car will almost certainly be an EV with some autonomous capabilities.
How will Tesla CEO Elon Musk react to the news? Well, last year the executive called Apple a “Tesla Graveyard,” saying, “They have hired people we’ve fired. If you don’t make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple. I’m not kidding.”
Musk later clarified his comments, assuring that he was indeed an Apple fan and was happy the brand was working on an EV.
Volkswagen’s newest EVs in China are making its American and European models look unusually conservative.
With Xpeng’s help, VW has introduced 800-volt charging and advanced urban driving assistance. The new VEGA technology package brings its locally developed vehicle platforms and CEA electronic architecture under one umbrella. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen intends to update VEGA every three months. Western buyers can find pieces of that package, but not the whole thing in a Volkswagen.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?