Apple boosts its 'Project Titan' electric car plan by hiring the cofounder of EV startup Canoo, who also spent 30 years at BMW

• Apple hired a former BMW exec and Canoo cofounder to work on its electric car project, $4 first reported.
• Ulrich Kranz spent 30 years at BMW before setting up startup Canoo, which he became CEO of in 2019.
• Apple is reportedly building a self-driving electric car, but has made no public announcements.

Apple has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former BMW executive and cofounder of autonomous electric vehicle startup $4, to work on its electric car, $4 first reported.

Apple hired Kranz in recent weeks, about a month after he stepped down as CEO of Canoo, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. He would report to Doug Field, formerly of Tesla, who heads up Apple's electric vehicle project, the people said.

The iPhone maker confirmed Kranz's hire to $4. Apple did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read more: $4

$4 by 2024 and has held talks with $4, and $4 about partnering, according to multiple reports.

Apple has never publicly confirmed its electric vehicle plans.

Kranz worked at BMW for 30 years, and was a senior vice-president for around half of that time. While at the company he worked on the development of Minis, sports cars, and the company's first SUV. He also led BMW's Project I, which designed electric vehicles for use in large cities.

Kranz left BMW to spend around three months as chief technology officer at Faraday Future, before setting up self-driving EV startup Canoo in late 2017.

Canoo first said it would start making its EVs available $4, but has since pivoted to selling commercial vehicles. In December it announced a $4 and is now moving into $4.

Kranz became CEO in 2019, and the company $4.

Apple's electric car is still years away

Apple's self-driving car project is internally known as $4

The company has recently $4 and $4, but said many of Apple's ideas "never see the light of day."

Reuters reported that $4 by 2024, while sources told Bloomberg in January that $4 and could take between five and seven years to reach the market.

Apple wouldn't be the only phone-maker looking at the booming electric-vehicle market.

In March, Chinese phone-maker $4 said it planned to invest $10 billion into a new $4 over the next 10 years, while sources told Reuters that $4 could arrive later this year.