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Report: Why Apple’s electric car negotiations w/ BMW stalled, could potentially resume

News first surfaced earlier this year that Apple and BMW had engaged in negotiations over the possibility of the Cupertino company using components from the carmaker for its own electric vehicle project. The negotiations reportedly fell through following a visit by Tim Cook and other Apple execs to BMW in Germany, but a report from Reuters today adds that talks between the two companies “may be revived at a later stage.”

The report also shares some more insight into Cook’s visit to BMW, noting that talks have stalled due to Apple wanting to “explore developing a passenger car on its own”:

The dialogue ended without conclusion because Apple appears to want to explore developing a passenger car on its own, one of the sources said… Also, BMW is being cautious about sharing its manufacturing know-how because it wants to avoid becoming a mere supplier to a software or internet giant… During the visit, Apple executives asked BMW board members detailed questions about tooling and production and BMW executives signaled readiness to license parts, one of the sources said.

According to the original report last week from German publication Manager Magazin, Apple is interested in the body of BMW’s i3 electric car, a generally well-received vehicle that gets about 80 miles on a charge and has an optional petrol-based range extender which can add a few gallons worth of range to the vehicle for longer trips. 

Today’s report from Reuters notes that BMW says it’s not currently in negotiations with Apple regarding developing a vehicle. However it adds the following comment from a “senior BMW source” that noted Apple was impressed with the i3 during its visit: “Apple executives were impressed with the fact that we abandoned traditional approaches to car making and started afresh. It chimed with the way they do things too.”

Details of Apple’s electric car project was first reported early this year with hundreds of employees reportedly working on the project after an approval from Tim Cook a year prior. Shortly after, we revealed Apple’s key team members and new hires from the automotive industry currently working on the project.

We cover the electric car and green energy industry on Electrek.co.

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Comments

  1. Because BMW is not capable of making good electric car, that’s why.

    • taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

      Apple is interested in the plastic reinforced carbon fiber BMW produces in Washington not the engine or batteries. At first Apple was looking at a co branded car then decided to build its own. So, Apple will source parts and technologies they want then have someone produce it for them.

      The biggest question to me is does Apple partner with someone to have traditional vehicle sales or use Tesla’s sales model.

      • I know. I meant something else ;) Hopefully Tesla’s sales model because Tesla does it the way I would. They were first to figure it out.

      • jnuneznj - 9 years ago

        The amount of Apple Store throughout the US makes it easier for them to sell in every state. Telsa is being blocked at various states (including NJ (Car Dealerships all over the place)).

    • No, but they make a better electric car than Apple do.

      So what’s your point?

      • Read my comments in previous article about this and you’ll see.

      • lin2logger - 9 years ago

        LOL… WHAT??! That POS i3 is nothing more than an bs alibi car and a BAD JOKE. *80* miles to a charge?? Gee, wonder why that useless crap ISN’T SELLING… so much for “how to make a BETTER electric car” my ass. A company as heavily lobbied by the oil industry as THEY are aren’t the least bit interested in it even becoming a success. It’s just a write-off and PR machine. Period.

      • lin2logger: Agreed. It’s nothing else than that. It looks ugly, range is so small and they (as an option) put you an engine in the car that charges the battery so it can get 50 miles more and it’s ridiculous. When you do an electric car it’s supposed to be electric only! Plus, they don’t believe in their car. Do you know why? When you want to go a longer distance, they lend you a proper big BMW car, PETROL car. What’s the point of making electric car like that? They completely missed the point. They should learn, very, very hard and fast because if they’ll continue like this, there won’t be BMW in 10 years (maybe less). Tesla all the way! They rule!

    • It is first gen electric cars for BMW. They will in the end make good electric cars. German car makers (includes BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Porche) make and use outstanding car technology. And for sure I understand BMW that they don’t want to be just a supplier of parts.

      Really doubt if we need Google and Apple as new entrants on the automotive market. A electric car itself is not interesting, it becomes only interesting with autonomous driving. But Google has at least some years experience in autonomous driving, Apple is just starting.

      Elon Musk of Tesla said that it was a mistake to build the first Tesla car on a lotus body. It could be a mistake to build your autonomous driving electric car on a BMW i3 body. For autonomous driving you might need a other body to add those sensors and lasers so they can operate perfectly.

      Just building a electric car without autonomous driving Is doubtful because what does Apple have to offer?. Overhauled driving controls (your steer now not a wheel anymore and you can take advantage of gestures?!), a new entertainment system (CarPlay? – which is a gadget and not a option you are willing to pay hundreds extra for. Btw who has seen CarPlay already?) or a new motor or motor management system (Darwin kernel on which iOS and OS X are based is not suitable as they need a realtime OS)? They have more experience in batteries then most car manufacturers for sure.

      The Google concept car looks like a car from a cartoon not futuristic. But it doesn’t look like we can buy that car anytime soon.

  2. Ian Grant - 9 years ago

    I can just imagine the control center for the car… It’ll be beautiful, but have the idiosyncrasies and scope of iTunes along with the difficulties of the BMW interface. And you’ll need it to turn left.

  3. jorheu - 9 years ago

    Can I just say how terrible this new mobile format is

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.