Top Engineer to Lead Apple Car Project, Report Says

Apple has tapped senior executive Bob Mansfield to lead its autonomous car project, reports The Wall Street Journal, which cites anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

Mansfield has led the engineering teams for products like the MacBook Air and iPad tablet. In 2013, he left Apple’s executive team to become an adviser for the company and work on special projects including the Apple Watch. Now, he’s reportedly running Project Titan, Apple’s long-rumored effort to enter the automotive space. Employees at Apple noticed earlier this month that a company directory labeled all senior managers on the car project as reporting to Mansfield, the sources said.

Although Apple has kept the project a secret, there have been many reports suggesting the tech giant is actively working on its own car. Last year, it was reported Apple was seeking locations to test a self-driving car. The automaker had also plucked a number of high-level executives from other companies, including former Fiat Chrysler quality chief Doug Betts.

Despite the efforts, the Apple car project has reportedly hit some major road blocks. According to the sources cited by WSJ, Apple executives can’t agree on a concrete vision for the vehicle. Steve Zadesky, an ex-Ford engineer who reportedly joined Apple, has now left the company for personal reasons. Due to various challenges, team members say that initial targets to complete Project Titan by 2019 are now unrealistic, according to the anonymous sources.

Source: The Wall Street Journal (Subscription required)

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