Apple’s long-rumoured smart car project could be ditched, as hundreds of members of the team working on it have left or been reassigned, according to a news report.
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s car team has had issues with direction and internal strife.
“It was an incredible failure of leadership,” a source told Bloomberg.
The division, codenamed “Project Titan,” has reportedly been given a deadline in late 2017 under its new leadership before the company decides whether the project is working or worth pursuing further, though the company could decide to revisit building its own car if it gets mothballed.
Remaining resources are now working on an autonomous driving system that can either be licensed out to existing car manufacturers or possibly returned to at a later date, depending on what can be delivered by the new 2017 project deadline.
The first wave of job losses hit in August, with a second round in September. Several top figures also chose to leave of their own accord. Apple reportedly had a hard time getting to grips with the unfamiliar automotive supply chains, which were a world away from the realm of smartphones, over which it exerts huge influence.