Automotive Business Cockpit – July 13, 2026: Apple's Hidden AI Legacy & the End of Germany's Engineering Fairytale

Good morning and welcome to the Automotive Business Cockpit.To kick off the new week, we're looking at the hard realities of the global automotive transformation. While Apple's cancelled vehicle project unexpectedly laid the foundation for the company's next generation of AI superchips, established automakers are still struggling with something as fundamental as steering wheel controls—a powerful symbol of the ongoing challenges facing the software-defined vehicle era.We'll also examine why young software engineers in Germany are suddenly finding it much harder to secure jobs, how China is reshaping the global automotive landscape with AI-powered electric vehicles, and why Formula 1 is now facing growing calls for AI-assisted race officiating.