June 10 (Reuters) – Apple Inc. has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former executive in the electric car division of BMW AG, to support its vehicle initiatives, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Kranz will report to Apple veteran Doug Field, who led the development of Tesla Inc.’s mass market Model 3 and now leads Apple’s auto project, the report said. (bloom.bg/3zbslcq)
Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The automotive endeavors of the iPhone maker, known as Project Titan, have been uneven since 2014, when Apple began designing its own vehicle from scratch.
In December, Apple announced that it was advancing its self-driving car technology, aiming to produce a passenger car by 2024 that could incorporate its own breakthrough battery technology. (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
