Nissan has indicated that it will be open to becoming a manufacturing partner for the Apple Car project which has been increasingly gathering steam. According to a Wall Street Journal Report, Nissan's CEO Makoto Uchida said on an earnings call that his company was open to "work with companies that are knowledgeable, with good experience, through partnership and collaboration." He said this in relation to a question towards the Apple Car as reports suggested the world's most valuable company was in talks with Japanese manufacture for the production of the Apple Car.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook has said in the past that self-driving car is the mother of all AI projects
The Apple Car project has been in the works for almost half a decade. It has had a stop-start nature with it going through a massive reorganisation in 2018. In late 2020, it changed leadership internally at Apple after the retirement of Bob Mansfield. It has been handed over to Apple's AI boss John Giannandrea under who the previous team works. The project has been gathering steam with some high profile hires and talks of breakthrough battery technology and self-driving capabilities.
Companies like Hyundai, Magna, Kia and BMW have all been outlined as potential partners. Apple reportedly will adopt the same approach that it takes to manufacture the iPhone, in tandem with contract manufacturers like Foxconn instead of building and owning inventory itself the way Tesla has been pursuing its electric cars.
Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance has caused a lot of embarrassment
A partnership with Nissan makes sense as it is a well-known car maker and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance can give the Apple Car a global manufacturing footprint. This idea would also boost the value of the alliance which has been reeling since the Carlos Ghosn scandal.
