Auto Moves: Ford poaches Apple car project lead Doug Field
The leading vice president behind Apple’s car project, Doug Field, has reportedly been poached by rival car manufacturer Ford.
Field, a veteran in the automotive industry, most recently served as vice president of special projects at Apple and was formerly senior vice president of engineering at Tesla.
Set to lead Ford’s software and connectivity strategy, Field will work closely with chief executive Jim Farley, Bloomberg first reported.
It follows Apple’s plans to ramp up its efforts in self-driving car technology, Reuters reported in December, as it had been aiming to produce passenger vehicles with its new battery tech by 2024.
It is not yet clear what Field’s move means for Apple’s auto project, which has reportedly progressed unevenly since 2014 when it first began to design its own vehicle from scratch.
Apple said in a statement that it is “grateful for the contributions Doug has made to Apple and we wish him all the best in this next chapter.”