It was recently confirmed that Apple’s talks with Hyundai Motors and its affiliate Kia Motors related to partnership for the tech giant’s autonomous cars didn’t materialize. Now, a new report claims that the company had also approached Nissan.
Apple had approached Japan-based Nissan to form a partnership for Apple Car but the report says that the talks are no longer active and the discussion after the brief contact didn’t advance to senior management levels.
It is said that there was a division among the companies regarding the branding for the autonomous car from Apple. People aware of the development say that the US giant wanted Apple-branded cars, which would downgrade Nissan to hardware supplier.
Apple is finding it difficult to partner with automobile companies for its upcoming smart car, which is being developed as ‘Project Titan.’ Carmakers are staying away from Apple because of a fear of becoming “the Foxconn of the auto industry.”
Although the company is not partnering with Apple, Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s chief operating officer says that the company is open to exploring partnerships with tech groups to adapt to the shift towards connected vehicles and autonomous driving.
Recently, we reported that Apple is moving ahead at a rapid pace for its autonomous car technology and is aiming to produce a passenger vehicle powered by the company’s own breakthrough battery technology as early as 2024. However, some analyst claims that a realistic target for production could be 2028.
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