The latest rumour surrounding the development of Apple’s electric car, which Elon Musk has called an “open secret,” is that the tech giant may be in talks with Canadian automotive supply giant Magna to build its designs.
This comes on the heels of Handelsblatt, a German newspaper, reporting that the tech company has abandoned talks with BMW and Daimler over questions of ownership.
The rumours stem from an article in the German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine, which stated that Apple had chosen Magna to manufacture its designs and had created a “small, secret research laboratory” in Berlin comprised of 15 to 20 engineers headhunted from various German car companies.
Magna is headquartered in Aurora, Ontario and manufactures complete cars for a wide range of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) including Honda and Aston Martin. This is similar to the business model of Foxconn, a Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer that works with Apple to build iPhones and iPads.
The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2015 that Apple expected to release the car in 2019 and had given the project the codename “Titan,” according to internal sources.
Recently, Apple hired Tesla’s former VP of Vehicle Engineering Chris Porritt to its special projects division, which is home to Project Titan. He may take over the leadership position left open by alleged former head Steve Zadesky, who left the company earlier this year.
Related reading: Apple’s WWDC conference will start on June 13 [Update]
[source]Frankfurter Allgemeine[/source]
