Apple Inc. is aiming to produce an electric car by 2024 and it may feature a “breakthrough” battery design that makes it cheaper to run and gives it longer range that existing vehicles of its type.

That’s according to an exclusive report in Reuters today, which said Apple is secretly developing a lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry for the vehicle. The new technology is said to be cheaper and more efficient than traditional battery cells that use nickel manganese cobalt chemistry. The car will also come with advanced lidar sensors that help to make it aware of its surroundings, the report said, citing anonymous sources.

Reports that Apple might be interested in making a car date back to 2015. But it was widely believed that Apple had scaled back its ambitions and has been more focused on developing self-driving software that could be licensed to vehicle manufacturers. That view was reinforced when Apple laid off about 200 people from its car team last year.

But Reuters says Apple has now renewed its focus on building an actual vehicle, though the details are still pretty sketchy. The report says Apple has set a target of 2024 to get the vehicle into production, though that date could be pushed back until 2025 or later because of pandemic-related delays. There’s also a chance Apple could still abandon the project entirely.

Apple will rely on third parties to supply components such as the lidar system for its car. The battery is said to feature a “monocell” design that makes it possible for more capacity to be fitted inside the unit by not dividing it into discrete cells. Reuters said it could result in lower costs and a “potentially longer range.”

The report doesn’t make clear if Apple’s car would be a true self-driving vehicle or something more akin to the Tesla, which provides advanced driver assistance in some situations. In any case, Apple is believed to have some of its best minds working on the project. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple had handed over control of the self-driving car project to John Giannandrea, Apple’s artificial intelligence chief, who joined the company from Google LLC in 2018.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller praised Apple’s ambition, saying that if the reports are true, the project speaks for the long-term vision and tenacity of Chief Executive Tim Cook. But said the company would be taking on an enormous challenge.

“We can expect Apple to partner with car manufacturers to have a realistic shot at this,” Mueller said. “If Apple wants a car out there in volume it won’t be before 2026. But investors may have their questions: Why would Apple want to get into such a low-margin and seasonal business?”

The Reuters report followed an earlier story from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, which said Apple could launch its own vehicle as early as next year.

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