When it comes to potential manufacturing partners for Apple’s car, Nissan was one of the companies suggested in recent reports. At first, this seemed like a realistic prospect, as the company’s CEO strongly suggested that Nissan would be open to an agreement – but a new report says the negotiations have come to nothing.
In fact, he says the discussions were brief and didn’t even reach a senior level …
Background
A report earlier this month said Nissan could be an ideal partner.
A senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence said Japanese automakers are often too busy with their own development, manufacturing, sales and customer service to take on a task like working with Apple. However, Nissan Motor Co. or Mitsubishi Motors Corp “don’t have much work and are a little idle, so you can apply” […]
Nissan probably has the right solution for a manufacturer that does not want to enter the electric vehicle market. The Japanese automaker has developed with the French partner Renault SA a common EV platform that can be used to develop products from different brands.
The company itself seemed to be more than open to the idea.
As technology transforms the auto industry, “we need to take new initiatives” and “work with companies that are knowledgeable, with good experience, through partnership and collaboration,” said CEO Makoto Uchida on Tuesday. This was in response to a question about his willingness to partner with Apple.
A Bloomberg rodeo also pointed to Nissan as a potential partner for Apple (although it positioned it as a remote alternative).
Apple Car Nissan talks were ‘brief’
But the Financial Times says the discussions have not gone very far.
Apple has approached Nissan of Japan in recent months about a deal for its secret self-driving car project, but negotiations are no longer active, according to people familiar with the matter.
Contact was brief and discussions did not advance to senior management levels after the divisions over the iPhone maker’s brand of electric vehicles, people added.
If Nissan thought there was something to discuss on the branding front, the conversations really would have been brief! It is obvious that the Apple car will have the brand as such, without mention of the manufacturing partner.
Reuters notes that Nissan’s shares fell in response to the news.
Nissan shares fell sharply in Monday’s early afternoon trading, down 3.7% compared to a 1.4% increase in the Nikkei 225 index.
VW claims it is not worried
Reuters reports that the VW CEO believes the Apple Car will be made, but says the group is not concerned about competition from the Cupertino company.
Although Apple’s plans are not public, Diess said his intentions are “logical” because the company has experience in batteries, software and design, and that it has big pockets to develop those skills.
“Still, we are not afraid,” he said. “The auto industry is not a typical technology sector that you could take over at once [and] Apple is not going to manage this overnight. “
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