BMW & Apple Planning To Make New Electric Car?
If rumors are true, tech giant Apple will soon have something new on the list of its offering. Some reports have claimed that the company, which brought the iPhone, has been in talks with car manufacturer BMW to collaborate on a car project.
The news first came out in German outlet called Manager Magazin. According to the report, Apple CEO Tim Cook has shown plenty of interest in the i3 vehicle manufactured by BMW.
The head of the Cupertino-based firm reportedly met with some executives of the German carmaker in 2014 as he discussed his interest in the design and platform of the electric car.
Reuters reported that Cook headed to the Leipzig factory of BMW along with some senior executives from his firm and had a tour of the facility. At that time, the discussion was open ended since Apple was intent on producing its own cars and without collaboration while BMW is wary of being a "mere supplier" of technology and process to the company.
"Apple executives were impressed with the fact that we abandoned traditional approaches to car making and started afresh," revealed a senior BMW representative to the news outlet. "It chimed with the way they do things too."
The representative from the German carmaker clarified that the company and the Tim Cook-led firm have no concrete plans to work on a project together as of the moment.
In early 2015, R&D chief Klaus Froehlich admitted that while the two companies share the same vision in their priority in branding, sleek design and continuously changing products, it might still not be enough for the two to come up with a joint project.
"We do not collaborate to open our eco systems but we find ways, because we respect each other," the R&D head said, as quoted by Reuters.
But BMW is not closing its doors as it has been reported that both companies are considering on beginning talks again soon.
BMW board member Peter Schwarzenbauer said that collaboration in the future might seem inevitable between hardware companies and tech firms.
"Two worlds are colliding here. Our world, focused on hardware and our experience in making complex products, and the world of information technology which is intruding more and more into our life," said Schwarzenbauer.
He added, "We need to get away from the idea that it will be either us or them. We cannot offer clients the perfect experience without help from one of these technology companies."
Apple has not made any comments on the matter.
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