Investment research company Sanford C Bernstein has come out to say it thinks Apple won’t have a car ready and for sale any time soon. They argue that it would have to be highly cost-effective, electric and autonomous, to become a success.

It does have plenty of cash at its disposal to have other companies do the work for it (it’s said to be worth more than Ford, GM, FCA, VW, Renault-Nissan, Peugeot and Daimler combined).

The research company says “the idea of an Apple iCar is not totally outlandish. But when Apple enters a category, it usually aims for domination. For that to be feasible in the auto industry, a huge number of technical barriers will need to be overcome and a series of revolutionary developments will need to align simultaneously – notably competitive electric powertrains and autonomous driving.”

They conclude that “the timing of such an industry transformation still seems as long way off.”

So are we going to see them brush critics and naysayers aside and actually make the supposed 2020 vehicle launch deadline? This report suggests no, but we really don’t know what kind of secret programs Apple has working in the background – older version of iOS certainly couldn’t multitask, but the company as a whole is becoming increasingly reliant on continually expanding its business, and, as Sanford C. Bernstein excellently points out, it wants to dominate all sectors it enters.

Via Forbes, Rendering by Liviu Tudoran

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