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| Apple's auto ambitions have suffered setbacks |
Ford has appointed Doug Field, Apple's director of vehicles, to lead the advanced technology and systems within the vehicle.
According to a Ford press release. Testimonials for Ford President and CEO Jim Farley.
“Field Ford leads in the development of the next generation of Blue Oval Smart Technology Stack to deliver intelligent, connected vehicles and services that are constantly improved through continuous updates,” Ford said.
Field is Apple's vice president of special projects, where he serves as the de facto head of Project Titan, the company's confusing project to make self-driving electric cars.
He previously worked at the iPhone manufacturer as Vice President of Mac Hardware Engineering. But he left the company in 2013 to become Tesla's chief automotive engineer.
More importantly, he helped oversee the development of the Model 3. He left Tesla in 2018 and returned to Apple.
His departure is the latest setback for the company's automotive division, which has undergone many changes in recent years.
Although the project was launched in 2014, work on self-driving electric cars is still in its infancy. This was announced by Bloomberg in January.
This approach represents a departure from the previous plan to develop self-driving software that can be used by other car manufacturers, which in itself represents a change in the attempt to make cars.
"We thank Doug for his contribution to the company and wish him all the best for the next chapter," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
It is not known who will succeed Field. Although the company hired Ulrich Kranz, the former BMW boss who helped develop the i8 hybrid sports car and the i3 electric sports car, in June, he worked under Feld's direction.
Apple's auto ambitions have suffered setbacks
Krans recently resigned as CEO of Canoo, the electric car startup he co-founded. Apple wants to acquire Canoo in 2020.
John Gianandrea, the company's senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence, reportedly began acquiring Apple's auto business in December.
Field joined Ford as the company continued to grow its electric vehicle business. Most notable is the Ford F-150 Lightning, an all-electric version of the popular pickup truck. No fully electric Mustang anymore.
The company also supports a business plan called Ford Plus. The goal is to build more cars that are fully connected to the internet and can be modified over the air.
Ford also said Google's Android system powers the infotainment system in millions of cars. It's from the year 2023.