In terms of potential manufacturing partners for the Apple Car, Nissan was one of the companies suggested in recent reports. This initially seemed like a realistic prospect, as the company’s CEO strongly hinted that Nissan would be open to a deal, but a new report states that talks have resulted in nothing.
It is indeed said that discussions were short and that they did not even reach senior level …
Background
A report earlier this month said Nissan could be an ideal partner.
A senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said that Japanese automakers are usually too busy with their own development, manufacturing, sales and customer service to take on a task such as working with Apple. Nissan Motor Co. of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. “however, does not have much work and is somewhat idle so they may be able to sign up” […]
Nissan probably has the right solution for a non-car manufacturer that wants to enter the EV market. The Japanese carmaker, together with French partner Renault SA, has developed a common EV platform that can be used to develop different branded products.
The company itself seems to be more than open to the idea.
As technology transforms the automotive industry, “we need to take new initiatives” and “work with experts with good experience, through partnership and collaboration,” CEO Makoto Uchida said on Tuesday. This was in response to a question about his willingness to work with Apple.
A Bloomberg summary also mentions that Nissan is a potential partner for Apple (although it was a long shot).
Apple Car Nissan talks ‘short’
But the Financial Times says discussions have not come very far.
Apple has been approaching the Japanese Nissan in recent months over the merger of its secret autonomous car project, but according to people informed about it, talks are no longer active.
The contact was brief and the discussions did not progress to the senior management levels after the division over brands for the iPhone manufacturer’s electric vehicles, the people added.
If Nissan thought there was even something to discuss on the brand front, the conversations would indeed have been short! It is clear that the Apple Car will be branded as such, without mentioning the manufacturing partner.
Reuters notes that Nissan shares fell in response to the news.
Shares of Nissan were sharply lower early in the afternoon trading, with 3.7% lower than a 1.4% rise for the Nikkei 225 benchmark.
VW claims it is not worried
Reuters reports that VW’s CEO believes that the Apple Car will be manufactured, but says that the group is not worried about the competition from the Cupertino company.
Although Apple’s plans are not public, Diess said his intentions as such are ‘logical’ because the company has expertise in batteries, software and design, and that it has deep pockets to build on these skills.
“Yet we are not afraid,” he said. ‘The car industry is not a typical technology sector that you can take over at once [and] Apple will not be able to do that overnight. ”
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