Tech giant Apple is eyeing to enter the automobile sector. The iPhone maker is working on a project to launch a self-driving car. If all goes as per the plan, Apple could launch its passenger vehicle in the next four years. The Cupertino-based company is developing its own battery technology. The technology is aimed at cutting the vehicle’s cost. Besides, it will extend the car’s range. It is also tapping industry partners for developing the system. Apple wants to build lidar sensors. These sensors will provide the self-driving cars with real-time and three-dimensional views of the world. This is not the first time when Apple has expressed its interest in the automobile sector.

Apple in 2014 also announced that it is working on developing a self-driving car. It said that a dedicated team is working on the technology. The ambitious project was slated for a launch in 2017. But it was shelved in 2016. The company is now starting afresh on the idea of an autonomous system. Apple has issued no official statement on the project. But people familiar with the development said that the proposed car could hit the roads by 2024. If the company makes a breakthrough in developing its own battery technology, it will be a significant milestone in its journey.

Notably, the cost of an electric vehicle depends on the battery technology that powers the car. It is not an easy task as it directly impacts the vehicle’s performance. Several key players are already working on rewriting the battery technology to cut the cost of vehicles. Meanwhile, Apple developing an autonomous car assumes significance as its CEO Tim Cook earlier termed the self-driving car project as the mother of all AI projects. The concept is quite new and is not so popular because of the security risks. Elon Musk’s Tesla already offers self-driving features but it requires human intervention too. The company is yet to introduce the full self-driving feature in its vehicles.