Apple has recruited a long time Ford Executive to accelerate its development of the Apple Car.
The iPhone maker, Apple Inc., has just recruited a long-term Ford executive who has been in charge of safety and car engineering. This suggests that Apple is looking to ramp up the development of an electric vehicle once again.
Ford’s global director of Safety engineering, Desi Ujkashevic, will now be joining tech giant Apple in efforts to fully develop a self-driving car. Ujkashevic has worked in several roles, including the development of EVs, helped oversee the engineering of interiors, exteriors, chassis and electrical components for many Ford models. –as reported by Bloomberg.
According to her Linkedin profile, Ujkashevic also worked on a range of Ford models such as Ford’s Escape, Explorer, Fiesta and Focus compact cars. She also worked on the Lincoln MKC and Aviator projects and helped develop new electric vehicles while working at Ford. She has also been responsible for all current and future program safety strategies (including Autonomous Vehicles), corporate rule-making, advanced strategy development, Field Service Actions, and Program Safety compliance. She has been working for Ford since 1991.
With her expertise and knowledge of Engineering and Safety protocols, Ujkashevic could help Apple navigate the next steps with self-driving cars. She can also guide Apple in their project.
It is reported that building an electric, self-driving car could be Apple’s “next big thing” however, the project has suffered strategy shifts and personnel changes since it was started in 2015. Still, Apple aims to introduce a product by 2025.
