Goldman Sachs, an Apple Card partner, issued an investor note in which it argues that any ambition of the Apple Car is likely to be focused on the in-car experience …
Some analyst notes tend to state the obvious, and the one seen by Business Insider falls into that category.
He begins by emphasizing that the automotive industry has historically been a low-margin industry. This is true, but it is not particularly relevant: without the iPhone, the smartphone industry is also a low-margin (or even loss-making) business, but Apple makes a lot of money from it. This is not a company that has trouble figuring out how to get big margins from the products it sells.
The note goes on to say that the reason Apple is so interested in self-driving cars is because they leave people free to spend more time using their iPhones.
“The main reason why Apple and other technology companies want to be in this business is because of the large amount of time that future consumers are likely to spend in vehicles that they drive alone, using information services while making their way from point A to point B , Goldman said.
The bank argues that a car makes sense for Apple as a platform, but not as a product.
“We believe that a car makes sense for Apple as a hardware platform to support its services, but the lower profitability of the automotive business probably means that investors would see a limited impact on profits from such a move,” explained Goldman.
Instead, Goldman finally sees Apple following a similar path it took in the TV industry and becoming a service provider in the electric vehicle market, rather than making a low-margin vehicle from scratch, according to the note.
“[Apple] may have alternative means to provide an almost as good [car] experience without the need to develop and sell a complete EV platform, ”said Goldman.
Not all banks agree. Morgan Stanley believes that an Apple car could provide more formidable competition for Tesla than any existing automaker.
Here in the 9to5Mac, we also have slightly different interpretations of the reports. Parker Ortolani is more convinced of the idea – albeit with a lot of reservations – while I am more skeptical, although I recognize that it is not impossible.
Concept image: Alex Baldini
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