BMW concerned about sharing manufacturing expertise to develop Apple Car - report
Apple and BMW have in fact held talks about a potential Apple Car, but the German automaker has been reluctant to reach an agreement, as it is afraid it could just become a supplier to the world's largest company.
Further details on Apple's alleged talks with BMW were revealed on Friday by Reuters. The news organization reaffirmed that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook visited BMW's headquarters last year, and toured its Leipzig factory to see how it manufactures the i3 series.
Apple's apparent interest in building a passenger car has earned reluctance in return from BMW, as the company is said to be taking a cautious approach.
Executives from Apple were said to be particularly impressed by the fact that BMW "abandoned traditional approaches to car making" in developing the i3. Apple's top brass apparently indicated they were interested in taking a similar fresh approach to the automobile.
Though nothing concrete came out of the meeting, a source told Reuters that negotiations between the two iconic companies could resume at some point in the future.
German publication Manager Magazin was first to report on Apple's talks with BMW last week. It claimed that BMW's i3 commuter car would have served as the basis of an Apple-built vehicle.
AppleInsider uncovered evidence that Apple was indeed conducting car-related research in March, for a secret internal project dubbed "Titan." Apple recently leased a group of buildings located a short drive from its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters and modified the space to support garages, automotive repair bays and testing facilities.
The Titan team is alleged to involve several hundred workers, and Apple has been accused of illegally poaching high-ranking executives from A123, a battery maker whose technology has been applied in high-performance electric vehicles.
Further details on Apple's alleged talks with BMW were revealed on Friday by Reuters. The news organization reaffirmed that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook visited BMW's headquarters last year, and toured its Leipzig factory to see how it manufactures the i3 series.
Apple's apparent interest in building a passenger car has earned reluctance in return from BMW, as the company is said to be taking a cautious approach.
Executives from Apple were said to be particularly impressed by the fact that BMW "abandoned traditional approaches to car making" in developing the i3. Apple's top brass apparently indicated they were interested in taking a similar fresh approach to the automobile.
Though nothing concrete came out of the meeting, a source told Reuters that negotiations between the two iconic companies could resume at some point in the future.
German publication Manager Magazin was first to report on Apple's talks with BMW last week. It claimed that BMW's i3 commuter car would have served as the basis of an Apple-built vehicle.
AppleInsider uncovered evidence that Apple was indeed conducting car-related research in March, for a secret internal project dubbed "Titan." Apple recently leased a group of buildings located a short drive from its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters and modified the space to support garages, automotive repair bays and testing facilities.
The Titan team is alleged to involve several hundred workers, and Apple has been accused of illegally poaching high-ranking executives from A123, a battery maker whose technology has been applied in high-performance electric vehicles.
Comments
Better to be a suppler, than file for bankruptcy. The disruption is coming, find your place, or disappear forever.
Quoted for prophetic accuracy
Yep - looks like they're really serious about the auto industry now.
In other words, climb on board or get left behind.
The average age of a vehicle in the US is eleven years old. My personal car is almost thirteen years old. I don't intend to replace it any time soon either.
Microsoft was a supplier to Apple once. So was Google.
ahh yes, but that was then, this is now.
Ah, yes, things never change now and we have reached the pinnacle of business. There will never be anything that goes wrong for Apple and everything they do will be perfect and the money printing business will just keep going.
Unlike Tesla, BMW actually makes a large profit.
At $60 BILLION, BMW is a bargain compared to buying Tesla.
BMW has a complete range of luxury automobiles that target the part of the market Apple loves.
BMW has the manufacturing facilities to build millions of cars - unlike Tesla.
BMW has a larger range of electric cars than Tesla.
After the purchase, BMW can be a subsidiary of Apple just like Filemaker is.
Then no one at BMW will complain about being Apple's supplier.
Except Toyota just gave Apple and Google a big FU.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150730/OEM06/307309899/toyota-holds-apple-google-at-bay-with-telenav-navigation-deal
The auto industry isn't Blackberry and Nokia.
So apples destiny is forever spitting out iPhones and Macs?
Not sure if Tim Cook's tour was just a simple walk through of the factory that any VIP could get or if it was a detailed account of the process. If the latter, their discussions are further along than is being evealed. There is just too much proprietary info at stake. Reminiscent of Steve Jobs' infamous walk through the Xerox PARC building many years before.
I'm a skeptic. The very traits that make a company successful in one area often make it ill-adapted for other areas.
That's an incredibly overgeneralized statement if I ever heard one.
Apple can simply BUY BMW.
Unlike Tesla, BMW actually makes a large profit.
At $60 BILLION, BMW is a bargain compared to buying Tesla.
BMW has a complete range of luxury automobiles that target the part of the market Apple loves.
BMW has the manufacturing facilities to build millions of cars - unlike Tesla.
BMW has a larger range of electric cars than Tesla.
After the purchase, BMW can be a subsidiary of Apple just like Filemaker is.
Then no one at BMW will complain about being Apple's supplier.
I agree.
But its going to cost more than $60 billion.
They could probably buy them with stock.
So the $60 billion that Apple bought at $85 per share can be 'sold' to purchase BMW at $120 a share.
As has been pointed out before, it'll take a lot to get the Quandt family to sell.
And, it just won't fit Apple's Cupertino culture to suddenly bring tens of thousands of Germans (and others, mostly Europeans) on board....*
* I don't mean that in any way as a knock against Europeans or Germans, it's just that I feel the culture across the pond is very different.
Tech or no tech, BMW is still going to sell cars. People purchase cars for more then just a nice infotainment center. Car buying isn't like technology. No wealthy person says "let me pass on on this luxury vehicle because it lacks car play for my iPhone". This isn't Chevy we are talking about. BMV has some of the best driving cars in the world. They are smart to be cautious about giving out there info.
Except Toyota just gave Apple and Google a big FU.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150730/OEM06/307309899/toyota-holds-apple-google-at-bay-with-telenav-navigation-deal
The auto industry isn't Blackberry and Nokia.
Toyota will come around.
Btw, the company is probably last its peak. VW (which has now signed on to CarPlay for most of their 2016 models in the US) recently overtook them as the largest automaker in the world.
Ah, yes, things never change now and we have reached the pinnacle of business. There will never be anything that goes wrong for Apple and everything they do will be perfect and the money printing business will just keep going.
Apple are not going anywhere in a hurry, it's nigh on impossible to unseat them now. Only governments can stop them, but as they only go for the top end of the market, (unlike MSFT) there's no monopoly to accuse them of.
Even a jackass CEO of Ballmer like proportions would be hard pushed to ruin Apple. They own their business model, nobody stands a chance in hell of stealing that from them.
I'm still skeptical that existing carmakers will let Apple take over their dashboard. There was another story recently that automakers are very reluctant to give Apple and Google the data they're interested in. Projecting UI through CarPlay or Android Auto is about as far as Apple of Google will get.
That is the case today! They don't need a car to lock it down any further. I could see Apple taking on auto manufacturing as a new startup business.
The other problem Apple has is where will they manufacture this machine. Many people will buy electronics from overseas but will not do so for their automobile. I really believe a made in America solution would be a positive thing for Apple. If they go to China for this car they will be attacked on all sides.
I'm actually interested in what Apple will do here but I'm not so sure they will have a machine that I'd want to buy. I'm more of a van / pickup sort of guy.