Geneva - Automotive executives are taking the prospect that Apple and Google will emerge as competitors seriously, even as they consider partnering with the two.
“If these two companies intend to solely produce electric vehicles, it could go fast,” Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn said at the Geneva International Motor Show.
“We are also very interested in the technologies of Google and Apple, and I think that we, as the Volkswagen company, can bring together the digital and mobile world.”
Apple had been working on an electric car and was pushing to begin production as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said last month.
Google said in January that it aimed to have a self-driving car on the road within five years.
The time frame – vehicle makers typically need at least five years to develop a car – underscores the aggressive goals of the two technology companies and could set the stage for a battle for customers.
Tesla Motors and General Motors are both targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 322 kilometres on a single charge and cost less than $40 000 (about R470 000).
“The competition certainly needs to be taken seriously,” Stefan Bratzel, the director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany, said.
“The closer we get to autonomous driving, the weaker the connection becomes between the customer and the car. And Google and Apple aren’t burdened with old technology but can start fresh.”
Tesla’s success in creating a start-up car company has also shown that the traditional barriers of entry into the car industry are not as difficult to overcome as some thought.
At the same time, vehicle makers have struggled to bring technical leaps to car development, something that Silicon Valley is also seeking to accomplish. For example, Google has invested in developing an autonomous vehicle since 2010.
“We never underestimate any competition,” Ian Robertson, BMW’s sales chief, said.
“The entry barriers, which were in the past maybe more substantial, are now slightly lower. But at the same time, the complexities of the car industry are still there as well.”
An experienced car maker typically spends five-to-seven years developing a new vehicle from scratch, with just the testing phase needed to get regulatory approval often taking three years.
Analysts estimate that for a company from outside the industry to build a car could take a decade.
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The key element is to make sure that when we’re working with them – and we’re totally open to work with any of them – it’s a real win-win,” Didier Leroy, Toyota’s European chief, said.
Bloomberg