Apple Hires Former Top Auto Exec, Basically Confirms The Company Is Building a Car

9 years, 3 months ago - 27 July 2015, Carbuzz

Either that or it wants wheels on the next iPhone. Apple wanting to build a car isn’t news. These rumors have been swirling for some time now and the tech company hasn’t done much to dispel them, unless you count hiring battery experts en masse as squashing a story.

Then Apple has done a fine job! The latest twist in the saga is the hiring of Doug Betts, the former quality vice president at Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA). The Detroit Free Press lays out a few reasons as to why this hiring is big news.

First off, Betts is a big player in the auto industry with tons of resources. When he joined Chrysler in 2007 he already had 21 years of experience in the industry. In addition to his quality work at FCA, he also held high-level manufacturing positions at both Nissan and Toyota. According to the Detroit Free Press, Betts is one of Apple’s first auto industry hires to not have a background in tech. He’s a car guy, which means he won’t exactly be of much use designing iPhones or tablets. Rumor has it that Apple wants its car by 2020, which means we could see a bunch of other auto execs lured away by bags of money between now and then.