BMW CFO says he sleeps 'very peacefully' in face of Apple Car threat

Posted:
in General Discussion
When asked about the potential threat of the rumored Apple Car, BMW Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter said he sleeps "very peacefully."

Credit: AppleInsider
Credit: AppleInsider


Peter seemed undaunted by rumors that Apple could debut an electric self-driving vehicle in the 2020s, according to Bloomberg. He added that BMW is well placed to take advantage of a shift toward electric cars and away from private vehicle ownership.

"I sleep very peacefully," Peter said when asked about Apple. "Competition is a wonderful thing -- it helps motivate the others. We're in a very strong position and we want to remain in a leading position of the industry."

BMW currently has several initiatives aimed at providing an alternative to car ownership. That includes partnerships with Daimler on a ride-hailing endeavor and a jointly owned parking app business.

"We won't exit digital mobility services, especially in inner-urban areas, we have changed our driving behaviors. We're preparing for the access that private vehicles have to these cities to be reduced -- that is why we need these mobility services," Peter said.

Apple is known to be working on an autonomous vehicle platform that could eventually be used in an Apple-branded production vehicle. The company was said to be in talks with Hyundai to produce that car by 2024, though those discussions have since ended.

The Cupertino tech giant has been working on an electric car since 2014. Since then, Apple has filed numerous patent applications related to vehicular technology and has hired key vehicle personnel from companies like Tesla and Porsche.

Some analysts believe the "Apple Car" could become a major competitive threat to the current dominant players in the electric vehicle space, such as Tesla.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 36
    ionicleionicle Posts: 98member
    Enjoy your peaceful sleep while it lasts......
    edited March 2021 cornchiplkruppuraharapulseimageswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 36
    Lol he did not mention if he sleeps peacefully knowing Tesla is already taking the overall market every single day... lmao
    anantksundaramnasseraepulseimageswatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 36
    looplessloopless Posts: 325member
    I would too. Do we really see Apple building a factory, hiring thousands of workers in , say Alabama, fighting with the UAW over unionization etc?  It's laughable. Making cars is hard.
    Apple can "license" their design, but all the major auto makers have already defined their electric car platforms ( like Ford/VW's MEB, BMW's CLAR etc) and would be throwing away many billions of dollars of investment to change course to use Apple's reference design.

    Apple should have built a CarOS that automakers could have adopted. Android has stepped into that gap. That ship has sailed as well.

    This project has been a disaster from day one. 
    anantksundaramchemengin1
  • Reply 4 of 36
    There is no "Apple car threat." 

    At the moment, it is nothing more than scattershot, unverified speculation. Period. 
    tommikelebeowulfschmidtchemengin1watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 36

    We've worked for decades to make a good car. These computer guys aren't just going to walk in!
    edited March 2021 dk49watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 36
    qwerty52qwerty52 Posts: 367member
    We have seen also many peacefully sleeping CEO’s a decade ago, when Apple announced their first iPhone ........
    n2macsnetroxpulseimageswatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 36
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,120member
    Lol he did not mention if he sleeps peacefully knowing Tesla is already taking the overall market every single day... lmao
    They're bigger than BMW, but in 2020 still had…

    0.8% of the world's auto sales.  :D

    https://www.torquenews.com/1083/here-s-what-tesla-s-current-market-share-looks-globally-us-china-and-europe
    tmaywatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 36
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,312member
    mknelson said:
    Lol he did not mention if he sleeps peacefully knowing Tesla is already taking the overall market every single day... lmao
    They're bigger than BMW, but in 2020 still had…

    0.8% of the world's auto sales.  :D

    https://www.torquenews.com/1083/here-s-what-tesla-s-current-market-share-looks-globally-us-china-and-europe
    Tesla hasn't generated any profit from vehicle sales. Any profits that Tesla generates are from regulatory credits sold to other automakers (FCA being one).


    mike1CloudTalkinwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 36
    If history tells us anything, those words may come back to haunt them.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 36
    BombdoeBombdoe Posts: 56member
    If the car market continues to do what its done from the start then there is plenty of scope for there to be many many electric vehicle manufacturers and brands hitting different price points.  Apple being one of them.  

    But what Apple has shown is when they get something right they can have a big impact and take a large share and become the leader. Apple have all the tools to be a massive threat and help themselves to a nice slice of the electric car pie.


    edited March 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 36
    Dinosaur: I sleep very peaceful in face of comet threat. We are in are real strong position .... boom ... 
    badmonkwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 36
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    ionicle said:
    Enjoy your peaceful sleep while it lasts......
    Whatever!! Not everyone is all of a sudden going to buy a Apple car. Some are BMW, some are Ford, some are VW ONLY. Even now there is no one car that overwhelming outsells all others combined. Plus people have different needs. Apple will not be able to fit all those needs. 
    tommikelechemengin1
  • Reply 13 of 36
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member

    We've worked for decades to make a good car. These computer guys aren't just going to walk in!
    Exactly! They aren’t 
  • Reply 14 of 36
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    mknelson said:
    Lol he did not mention if he sleeps peacefully knowing Tesla is already taking the overall market every single day... lmao
    They're bigger than BMW, but in 2020 still had…

    0.8% of the world's auto sales.  :D

    https://www.torquenews.com/1083/here-s-what-tesla-s-current-market-share-looks-globally-us-china-and-europe
    It’s actually 69% of all EV sales. Down from 81% a year ago. Since all car manufacturers have said they are going all EV and no ICE, you need to go off of EV sales.
  • Reply 15 of 36
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    What Apple is up to remains to be seen. They have not said one word. Nothing, but speculation from tech media and some very cocky Apple fans. Until Apple says something all the stuff coming from these sources is the same as BS.
    chemengin1watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 36
    mknelson said:
    Lol he did not mention if he sleeps peacefully knowing Tesla is already taking the overall market every single day... lmao
    They're bigger than BMW, but in 2020 still had…

    0.8% of the world's auto sales.  :D

    https://www.torquenews.com/1083/here-s-what-tesla-s-current-market-share-looks-globally-us-china-and-europe
    Wait, did I miss a memo?  What metric are you using to claim Tesla's bigger than BMW.  Certainly not car sales.  Maybe market cap, but that's not how the size of car companies are judged.
  • Reply 17 of 36
    n2macsn2macs Posts: 87member
    ionicle said:
    Enjoy your peaceful sleep while it lasts......
    Whatever!! Not everyone is all of a sudden going to buy a Apple car. Some are BMW, some are Ford, some are VW ONLY. Even now there is no one car that overwhelming outsells all others combined. Plus people have different needs. Apple will not be able to fit all those needs. 
    That’s what they said about the iPhone, iPad, etc. You don’t have to be the market leader to get most of the profits. Quality over quantity.
    ionicle
  • Reply 18 of 36
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    n2macs said:
    ionicle said:
    Enjoy your peaceful sleep while it lasts......
    Whatever!! Not everyone is all of a sudden going to buy a Apple car. Some are BMW, some are Ford, some are VW ONLY. Even now there is no one car that overwhelming outsells all others combined. Plus people have different needs. Apple will not be able to fit all those needs. 
    That’s what they said about the iPhone, iPad, etc. You don’t have to be the market leader to get most of the profits. Quality over quantity.
    You clearly don’t understand the car manufacturing business as a whole. 
    chemengin1
  • Reply 19 of 36
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 1,999member
    If he is to not sleep peacefully it isn’t because  of  Apple.  Apple is not in the car business, has not announced intentions to do so, and if they do, will likely be a small niche player for a long while.  

    10 years from now ICE will still be the majority of vehicles on the streets in most places.  EVs have a place but their climb will be slow and probably reliant on something other than battery based tech.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 36
    roakeroake Posts: 809member
    n2macs said:
    ionicle said:
    Enjoy your peaceful sleep while it lasts......
    Whatever!! Not everyone is all of a sudden going to buy a Apple car. Some are BMW, some are Ford, some are VW ONLY. Even now there is no one car that overwhelming outsells all others combined. Plus people have different needs. Apple will not be able to fit all those needs. 
    That’s what they said about the iPhone, iPad, etc. You don’t have to be the market leader to get most of the profits. Quality over quantity.
    You clearly don’t understand the car manufacturing business as a whole. 
    I clearly don’t either, but I suspect maybe Apple looked into it a little before committing to Project Titan.
    ioniclewatto_cobra
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