Hyundai was on the list but things changed recently and quickly.
Nissan has indicated its interest in working out a deal.
Honda, BMW, Volkswagen, and Stellantis were also on the shortlist.
Apple’s search for an established automaker to build its car is taking on serious proportions. A week ago, it was reported that they were in talks with Kia and the Hyundai group. Only a few days later, that story was killed but since then, other brands have been mentioned as potential partners. Nissan seems to be well-positioned for the job.
Apple is the world’s most valuable company and one with immeasurable financial resources. They’ve also been thinking about the Apple Car for a while now and, much like the famed iPhone, Apple does not build the products they sell. They do however design and create all the related technologies. For the car project, they would be looking for a partner capable of assembling and integrating their technologies into a final product.
Apple HQ | Photo: Apple
Hyundai and Kia were at the forefront of this endeavour but now it seems as though Nissan has become the new front-runner. Apple is looking to build the car in the US and Nissan has spare capacity to fill based on the story filed by the Wall Street Journal.
According to Mio Kato, an equity analyst who publishes on the Smartkarma research platform, Nissan is, among the Japanese automakers, “the most likely candidate to be in serious discussions with Apple,” The story does say that Apple may not rely on only one supplier, so time will tell.
