Apple's electric car could debut as soon as 2025

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at The Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

(Reuters) - Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is pushing to launch its electric car as early as 2025 and refocusing the project around full self-driving capabilities, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The iPhone maker's shares rose nearly 3% to hit a new record following the report.

Apple's ideal car would have no steering wheel and pedals, with interiors designed around hands-off driving, the report said.

The company's automotive efforts, known as Project Titan, have proceeded unevenly since 2014 when it first started to design a vehicle from scratch.

Demand for electric vehicles has surged as countries and customers turn more environment conscious, propelling the market value of companies such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Rivian far above traditional carmakers around for decades longer.

"It's a matter of when, not if," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said, adding that chances of Apple unveiling its own standalone car by 2025 as 60% to 65%.

The Bloomberg report said some people working on the project were skeptical about the timeline even with recent progress, which includes the car's underlying self-driving system, processor chips and advanced sensors.

Apple declined to comment on the report.

Reuters had reported in December that Apple was targeting 2024 to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology.

Meanwhile, The Information, citing a memo, reported that Apple was preparing to bring back employees to offices starting Feb. 1 and will let staff work for up to four weeks remotely each year.

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