Apple has been warned against entering the car manufacturing industry by the former CEO of one of America’s largest auto makers.
In response to rumours Apple plans to build its very own Tesla-killer, former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson says Apple’s chances of success in the ‘low-margin, heavy manufacturing’ business were slim.
“I think somebody is kind of trying to cough up a hairball here,” Akerson told Bloomberg.
“If I were an Apple shareholder, I wouldn’t be very happy.
“Look at the margins of an iPhone versus a car,” he added. “I’d rather have the margins associated with the phone and produce [them].”
Speculation has been rife, over the last few weeks, suggesting Apple is broadening its automotive horizons beyond CarPlay’s entertainment and navigation platform and into full on manufacturing.
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The firm has recently poached several employees from Tesla and most recently nabbed Mercedes-Benz’ head of R&D ahead of a possible expansion into the sector.
“They’d better think carefully if they want to get into the hard-core manufacturing,” he said of Apple. “We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into car. They have no idea what they’re getting into if they get into that,” Akerson added.
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