Those in Cupertino are continuing the autonomous vehicle testing program, they have increased their fleet of drivers and cars.
According to MacReports sources, Apple increased the number of members in the driving team as part of the autonomous vehicle testing program. Last November, 145 drivers were taken into account, now there are 162. As for vehicles, it already has 68 in its fleet.2 more by the end of 2023. In July it was reported that they had increased to 152 drivers with 56 vehicles.
The Apple Car project is still alive, here’s how it’s going
All this is happening in California and those in Cupertino are not the only ones testing autonomous vehicles
. Some manufacturers offer longer programs. For example, Mercedes-Benz has 226 drivers and 49 vehicles, a number in which it surpasses Apple in number of drivers but is inferior in number of vehicles.
Vehicles and drivers in the testing phase
Nvidia is part of the program and has 305 drivers but with only one vehicle. Tesla has 59 drivers and only 14 vehicles, reasonable numbers considering how far they have already come in this area. The case of Waymo and Crucero is surprising, in the first they have 664 drivers and 371 vehicles; In the second case, there are 281 drivers and 1,015 vehicles. The contrasts in the number of elements are astonishing.
The Apple Car continues its course but there is still a long way to go before its commercial destiny
An important curiosity that must be taken into account: Apple does not have permission to test driverless vehicles in California. Waymo dominates this test scenario with 333 vehicles.
Collision accidents are more common than you think
In California, inspectors monitor what happens during incidents involving autonomous vehicle test vehicles. Everything is not accidental, from remains that may be left on the road, scratches or peelings to the most serious. As for collisions, those that occur in manual mode are also included.
Apple recorded 21 collisions from 2019 to January 5, 2024. This is one of the lowest with Mercedes-Benz. The latest incident occurred on October 23 in a Lexus test vehicle in manual mode. It wasn’t that bad, just damage to the side mirror while trying to pass another car.
Taking into account that those of Cupertino do not have bad figures, taking into account the slight increase in the number of drivers and incidents, Your autonomous car project is still progressing well. We may not see an Apple Car as such, but in the technological spirit, there’s no doubt it will be there.
Conceptual image of an Apple car
When will this happen? Testing still has a long way to go, although it is true that several years have passed, in this industry it is better to have a solid stage of testing before regretting any problem that leads to completely abandoning a project like that of ‘Apple. Which manufacturer will have the chance to implement the technology developed by those from Cupertino?
Permit to test vehicles without waiting driverwe hope to let you know soon throughout this year when this happens.
