Apple is expected to partner with another automaker to produce its autonomous car, but Nissan has denied recent rumors surrounding partnership talks.
Since January, we have been hearing rumors about the Apple Car almost every day, covering topics such as potential partners, feature set, release date, and more. Recent speculation has suggested that Apple has approached Nissan in recent months to discuss a potential partnership for an autonomous car. That is at least what the Financial Times has claimed. The report explained that negotiations between the two companies were "brief" and that the talks did not reach the upper levels of the two companies due to disagreements over the specifics of the Apple Car. Interestingly, Nikkei Asia also reported similar things. Nissan's biggest concern was said to be its role. According to insiders, the company fears that it will be relegated to a pure "hardware supplier." The reason for this is that the Apple Car will have pure Apple branding. After all, Cupertino is supposed to be able to develop both the hardware and software.
Apple Car: Rumors will stay with us for a long time
But when it comes to manufacturing, the iPhone manufacturer is dependent on external partners in the automotive industry. Be that as it may. At the latest quarterly figures release, Nissan's COO Ashwani Gupta explained that Nissan is open to partnerships - but only - if the other party adapts to Nissan's services and not the other way around. The COO explained also that Nissan has its own customer base to satisfy and that it will not change the way it manufactures cars. In the course of this, Gupta denied reports that Nissan and Apple are already in talks. However, the company is open to a possible collaboration. Despite the many reports surrounding the Apple Car, an introduction before 2027 / 2028 is rather unlikely. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg have already stated this. Accordingly, the rumor mill will be with us for quite a long time. (Image: Nissan COO/CPO Ashwani Gupta)
