Apple Is Regrowing It’s AV Driving Team in California
Reading Time: 2 minutes According to the memo sent to us by the California DMV, Apple is again growing its driving team for its autonomous vehicle (AV) test program. In our last report in November of last year, Apple had 145 drivers, and now that number is up to 162.
In our last report, Apple had increased the size of its driving fleet for the first time since 2021. It added two more vehicles late last year and now has 68 test vehicles in its fleet.
Fleet volumes
There are many manufacturers currently testing AV technology in California. Their programs vary a lot in size. Here are the recent numbers for some of the major manufacturers.
Fleet volumes from the California DMV as of January 5, 2024
| Manufacturer Name | Drivers | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| MERC BENZ | 226 | 49 |
| WAYMO | 664 | 371 |
| TESLA | 59 | 14 |
| CRUISE | 281 | 1015 |
| ZOOX | 615 | 289 |
| NVIDIA | 305 | 1 |
| APPLE | 162 | 68 |
| NURO | 149 | 109 |
| MOTIONAL | 34 | 61 |
| WOVEN BY TOYOTA | 47 | 30 |
| PONY.AI | 8 | 18 |
Driverless programs
Despite being one of the early entrants into the California AV scene, Apple has still not applied for a permit to test driverless vehicles in California. Here are the fleet sizes for the six manufacturers currently testing driverless vehicles in California.
Driverless fleet volumes as of January 5, 2024
| Manufacturer | Vehicles |
|---|---|
| WAYMO | 333 |
| NURO | 14 |
| AUTOX | 1 |
| ZOOX | 8 |
| APOLLO | 4 |
| WERIDE | 5 |
Driverless deployment
There are only three manufacturers with licenses to actually deploy their driverless AVs. Cruise was on this list up until October of last year when its driverless permit was suspended following an incident with a pedestrian.
| Issue Date | Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Dec 23, 2020 | NURO |
| Sep 30, 2021 | WAYMO |
| June 8, 2023 | MERC BENZ |
Collision Volumes
California keeps track of every incident involving AV test vehicles. These can be anything from a bit of road debris scratching the paint to major accidents. Included in the collision counts are incidents where the vehicle was being driven in manual mode (like a normal car).
For example, the latest collision for Apple was on October 23rd and involved one of its Lexus test vehicles being driven in manual mode. The car’s side mirror was dinged by another car trying to pass it.
Drivered collision volumes January 1, 2019 – January 5, 2024
| Manufacturer | Collisions |
|---|---|
| WAYMO | 248 |
| CRUISE | 196 |
| ZOOX | 81 |
| APPLE | 21 |
| PONY.AI | 10 |
| MERC BENZ | 10 |
| WERIDE | 7 |
| MOTIONAL | 2 |
| WOVEN PLANET | 1 |
Driverless collision volumes January 1, 2019 – January 5, 2024
| Manufacturer | Collisions |
|---|---|
| CRUISE | 44 |
| WAYMO | 22 |
| WERIDE | 2 |
Previous coverage of Apple’s autonomous vehicle program
- July 2023: Apple Grows AV Driving Team Again After Dramatic Cut Earlier This Year
- March 2023: Apple Increases Number of Test Drivers for Its Autonomous Fleet, Keeps Fleet Size Steady
- January 2023: Apple Adds More Drivers to Autonomous Vehicle Team; Decreases Fleet Size
- November 2022: Apple Has Added 51 More Drivers in 2022 While Fleet Size Remains Steady
- September 2022: Apple Adds More Drivers to its Autonomous Vehicle Program; Waymo, Cruise Make Huge Additions to Their Driverless Fleets
Early autonomous vehicle coverage
