Volkswagen’s T6 camping van, the model that Apple will use as its base for a self-driving electric car

by Anthony P.

Many people have heard of Apple’s self-driving program, in fact, it has been the subject of a lot of speculation ever since rumors broke that the tech company was making its own self-driving car.

There have been high hopes for the program from Apple enthusiasts because of Apple’s deep pockets and intelligent employees. The company planned to make its own car, but had to face the reality that to manufacture the car they needed help from automobile makers. In the last few years, Apple has been looking for a partner.

According to former employees, Apple tried to negotiate partnerships with companies like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren foremost, but no agreements were made. The company couldn’t seem to find a partner for the manufacturing of its all electric self-driving car until they struck a deal with Volkswagen.

At a lab in Turin, Italy, Apple will make Volkswagen’s T6 vans into self-driving cars.. The vans are going to be made for employees of the company to travel between offices in Silicon Valley.

Executives of the program told CEO Tim Cook that the self-driving electric van would be ready by the end of 2018.  According to a former employee, this deadline is not likely to be met.