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So, it's going to be "Apple car", but underneath it will be KIA, but priced at a premium? I highly doubt they will compete with Mercedes, BMW or Audi, more like mid-range, but would Apple ever let its brand be seen as "mid-range"?
But then again, current car market and car companies are completely lost, just blindly following Tesla and throwing everything they got hoping it will stick, while cutting costs at all corners and making user experience in a car pain in the ass.

I'm thinking they'll use cheap KIA production to flood the market with as many Apple cars as possible, while integrating their Autopilot feature, together wit Apple Car play(so every user will be able to play their own songs, read messages, use multimedia and whatnot) and make a subscription based model for people who just need a car "on the go". Apple has been lately all about subscriptions, they just love it.
 
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an Apple car, with an 14 days return policy...it will make the car market change the industry policy
Tesla already did something similar.

Tesla did have a similar policy (7 day returns), but apparently not any more. I guess too many people took advantage of it?

 
Tesla did have a similar policy (7 day returns), but apparently not any more. I guess too many people took advantage of it?


Dang... I remember when people would take advantage of Costco's amazing return policy and buy a big-screen TV for the Super Bowl and return it on Monday.

But it seems like a lot of hassle to do that with a $50,000 automobile...

:oops:
 
I don’t know about in the US but in the UK Kia are now rated pretty highly. I’ve got a 2013 Cee’d with nearly 120000 miles on the clock and it has been the comfiest and most reliable car I’ve ever owned.
They’re rated the most reliable car in the U.S. alongside Dodge.
 
Big Sur: Bricked MBPs
HomePod update: Bricked HomePods

And yes there have been instances of iOS software updates bricking entire CarPlay-enabled head units in cars.

I have never heard of a Tesla software update bricking a car.

Apple's software quality has been poor for years. And cars are now all about software.
 
Some people are stubbornly disbelieving that Tim Cook is not best for Apple.

Tesla EV supply chain is 6-7 years ahead of Apple, Tim Cook doesn't seem to have the reputation for being a great leadership in developing new groundbreaking product.

If Apple and Tim Cook have any real commitment about developing a smart EV then it’s absolutely ridiculous that they are still at the preliminary phase of development in 2021.
 
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So, it's going to be "Apple car", but underneath it will be KIA, but priced at a premium? I highly doubt they will compete with Mercedes, BMW or Audi, more like mid-range, but would Apple ever let its brand be seen as "mid-range"?
But then again, current car market and car companies are completely lost, just blindly following Tesla and throwing everything they got hoping it will stick, while cutting costs at all corners and making user experience in a car pain in the ass.

I'm thinking they'll use cheap KIA production to flood the market with as many Apple cars as possible, while integrating their Autopilot feature, together wit Apple Car play(so every user will be able to play their own songs, read messages, use multimedia and whatnot) and make a subscription based model for people who just need a car "on the go". Apple has been lately all about subscriptions, they just love it.
KIA is rated the highest reliability in the U.S. Genesis (Hyundai - the owner of KIA) is rated the most reliable Premium vehicle in the U.S. (as it has for the past 4 years). Mercedes, BMW & Audi are amongst the lowest.

So if people are going to spend lots of $’s on these cars, Apple will sell like hotcakes.

And everyone is all about subscriptions, so that point is dead in the water.
 
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Apple may have deep pockets, but there are things that money can really buy or solve. It is matter of years of testing, adjusting, trying different materials and techniques before one can come out with an ideal and workable solution.
 
It’s crazy really, because Tim Cook first talked about the Apple car back in 2015 on the Stephen Colbert show. And here we are six years later, and production seems like it’s finally imminent.

I can tell you this, all eyes will be on Apple to see what type of momentum they can bring in to the EV world.
Imminent? It may take at least a year before the production line is adjusted to the specification and requirements necessary to produce a completely new car. Even if works are already ongoing at Kia plants, I dont think there is a possibility of seeing a sample run before the end of next year. And this sample run will be just to verify that there are no major problems, and at least a year more would be necessary to ramp up volume production. And all of this assuming that Apple Car is engineered and designed perfectly and there are no changes to the design down the road, which is virtually impossible. Apple and Kia would need to work very hard for at least 4 years before releasing officially this car, so my estimate is that Apple may announce it sometimes in 2022 or beginning of 2023 at the earliest.
 
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And cars are now all about software.
No, cars are definitely not all about software. Cars are about mechanical systems, moving parts, seating comfort, driving comfort, practicality, fun, status symbols and many more things depending on the owner/driver. Software has done very little to the way we operate a car. All cars are operated using a steering wheel and pedals like they were 70 years ago. Software has given us infotainment systems, assistive steering/braking/etc, however a car still serves the same purpose and is basically operated the same way as it was 70 years ago. Unless Apple think they can change this I don't see what they can add to the car market.
 
They’re rated the most reliable car in the U.S. alongside Dodge.

I’d say research consumer reports and vehicle complaints.com, Dodge has some serious issues in terms of reliability with some of their lineup, more specifically, the Dart is one of the worst four-door sedans in terms of reliability. They’ve had plaguing issues for years with Ram line up with electrical and drive train problems.
 
Most of the discussions are realted to Kia's branding which is irrelevant.

It's clear that Apple is either going to ask Kia to manufacture the car with Apple branding, just like Foxconn/iPhone. And Kia is an excellent manufacturer.
 
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My non-expert thoughts...

To those who think Apple can't build a premium car in partnership with Kia --

They are investing a huge amount of money in Kia. This means that they are getting Kia to upgrade their manufacturing equipment and operations up to what Apple needs. Apple is hiring folks from premium manufacturers that know and understand what is involved in building quality vehicles.

Kia doesn't know how to design cars. Their cars are a hodge podge of design elements borrowed from other cars. That's where Apple comes in.

To those who think Apple can't play in a market with tight margins --

Remember that before the iPhone, margins on phones (including existing smartphones at the time) weren't all that great either.

What Apple is really good at is in figuring out the ecosystem and bringing innovations that allow cost cutting without cheapening. I think they will be successful.

Wall St. doesn't seem to buy it and that IMO is a good thing. Otherwise it would unnecessarily create tremendous pressure.
Huge amount of money - are you kidding me?
Look what Tesla invested to get it rolling - look what vw, g m - invested we are talking about 50billion and more - and you really wanna think apples 4 billion is huge - yes maybe for a hip hop ear piece rocker but not for cars.

I don’t like cook but he is smart enough to know that a car opens the door to hell - ofCourse he is also smart enough to know there’s pressure from in and outside to do something like a car - because mobility is the next big thing - beside ar - if apple ever brings it out.

At the moment i can only see - a ride hailing perspective for an apple car - or an Apple TV (hobby) perspective -there is NO WAY apple can come up with a competitive product.

Apple cant even produce a flawless AirPod - which is there core competency for years - now think about a car!
 
It’s crazy really, because Tim Cook first talked about the Apple car back in 2015 on the Stephen Colbert show. And here we are six years later, and production seems like it’s finally imminent.

I can tell you this, all eyes will be on Apple to see what type of momentum they can bring in to the EV world.
They can bring no momentum at all - because there is already an apple in that segment called Tesla!
Apple can only hope to fiddle some crap together and call it car!
Apple wanted to buy the bmw i3 platform back then - unsuccessfully - and even with that platform - how would that ever be a competitive offer?
 
So, it's going to be "Apple car", but underneath it will be KIA, but priced at a premium? I highly doubt they will compete with Mercedes, BMW or Audi, more like mid-range, but would Apple ever let its brand be seen as "mid-range"?
But then again, current car market and car companies are completely lost, just blindly following Tesla and throwing everything they got hoping it will stick, while cutting costs at all corners and making user experience in a car pain in the ass.

I'm thinking they'll use cheap KIA production to flood the market with as many Apple cars as possible, while integrating their Autopilot feature, together wit Apple Car play(so every user will be able to play their own songs, read messages, use multimedia and whatnot) and make a subscription based model for people who just need a car "on the go". Apple has been lately all about subscriptions, they just love it.
FIRST - nowadays there’s nothing like cheap production. All the expertise is here - you just have to use it. So if apple uses Kia - because its the only „Team“ available for them - they will build a factory in Georgia USA - hopefully- i would expect with proper technology from suppliers. So we can expect a „good“ car.

Entering the consumer business with that car - i highly doubt under cook - or if they do it would be highly „not premium“ apple has no mechanics, has no charging network, etc.

So my best guess is a kind of ride hailing service - autonomous would make sense.

Even if they throw it out at the lowest possible price to gain market share and customer acceptance - there’s not really much to win for them as a brand!

From a strategic position - its the same game as with Apple TV. Saying HELLO car producers - use our carkit or we will produce our own car. That’s the only thing which makes sense at all! The Apple car is a project out of FEAR to not miss out the next mobility Operating System!!!
 
Will this be 'the' Apple Car or is this like the Motorola Rokr where Apple just tried their hand in a new market with a JV just to turn up a few years later with their own production and blow everyone away?
Using the Rokr analogy it would be similar to current Car play.
 
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These are the best rumors eventually if you keep naming every car manufacturer in a rumor your bound to get it right 😂🤣
 
rumors seem to only come when $TSLA stock rises.
You noticed this too? It’s like a short seller is putting news to drive TSLA stock down. But as an investor in AAPL and TSLA, Apple’s partnership with KIA is laughable and will give a boost to TSLA.
 
I don’t understand why some people are so confused by this. Kia would be a manufacturing partner for Apple. Foxconn is also a manufacturing partner. Apple has invested in Foxconn as well. Does the name “Foxconn” appear on iPhone or other Apple products? No, because they are a manufacturing partner, not a co-branding partner.
 
Apple teaming up with Kia made me think of this...
 

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