Regardless of whether or not Apple is actually planning to launch a car, Toyota President Akio Toyoda has warned that the tech giant that building and selling cars isn’t as straight forward as something like a smartphone.
Toyoda said launching a car is a decade-long commitment and that companies need to consider the entire life cycle of their vehicles, including the eventual scrapping. He made the comments last week during a press conference held by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
“Anyone can make a car if they have the technical ability, but, once they make a car, I hope they’ll recognise they have to steel themselves for 40 years of responding to customers and to various changes,” he said.
Despite his warning, Toyoda said new entrants in the auto sector were a good thing, as he sees it giving the industry a more secure future.
Toyoda has been vocal in the past on issues he believes strongly in. For example, last December he described Tesla as being like a chef with some recipes but not a viable restaurant.
He also questioned the current rush to ban vehicles with internal-combustion engines while speaking during a Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association press conference held last December, where he also said there was too much hype surrounding electric vehicles.
Apple is still quiet on whether or not it is actually planning to launch car. However, there have been reports the company has talked with established automakers about signing them as contract manufacturers for a car. The company has also been filing multiple patents in recent years related to cars and driving.