Apple made headlines when a report suggested that the US tech giant is planning to unveil its first Apple Car by 2023. As the launch approaches, the company is building out the management team and inducting experienced talent from the competing car brands. The latest expected to join Apple is Desi Ujkashevic who has worked for Ford for the past 31 years.
The acquisition of a veteran like Ujkashvevic by Apple could help the company come out of the soup as early details of the car were revealed. Mark Gurman has revealed in his newsletter that Ujkashvevic will join the Apple Car development team. His experience with the automotive maker may fill some remaining holes in Apple’s R&D around the product.
Ujkashevic’s LinkedIn account highlights his work in the areas of vehicle control and safety. This will probably be the kind of technology that Apple will need as the launch date nears. The Ford executive has worked on many famous cars including the Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Ford Escape and Ford Explorer.
The move comes nearly a year after Doug Field, Apple’s project head left and joined Ford Motors. Since then, the project has been led by Kevin Lynch, who is also behind products like the Apple Watch and health software. Apple has also lost several top executives from branches such as robots, self-driving sensors and security.
Internal data has revealed that Apple has set a date of 2025 for the final product launch. We are not yet sure whether the tech giant will be able to meet the deadline. However, more and more information is coming out about the car.
A recent patent from Apple reveals that Apple has renewed an old patent for Apple Car software. This is understandable as Apple already has a loyal user base in the form of iPhone users. It should convey the same sentiment as the phone.
