A 2020 deadline would put Apple in line to compete head to head with other makers who have signaled they may have self-driving or next-generation electric cars ready in five years.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, for instance, has set 2020 as a deadline for his company to market a self-driving car. And Google has signaled that it might be ready sooner with a self-driving car. Tesla hopes to have a middle-market advanced electric car on the road by about 2017, the Model 3, about the same time that General Motors says it will have its Chevrolet Bolt, an all-electric car with 200-mile range.