Nissan has issued a statement denying it’s currently in discussions with Apple regarding working with the tech giant on its often-rumoured autonomous electric vehicle project.
The statement follows a report from the Financial Times that indicated the Japanese automotive company has been talking to Apple regarding a potential partnership “in recent months.”
“We are not in talks with Apple,” said a Nissan spokesperson in a statement to Reuters. “However, Nissan is always open to exploring collaborations and partnerships to accelerate industry transformation.”
However, the statement doesn’t mention if talks took place at some point. The Financial Times’ report says that “the contact was brief and the discussions did not advance to senior management levels following divisions over branding for the iPhone maker’s electric vehicles.”
Nissan reportedly took issue with Apple wanting its branding to be displayed on the vehicles, with the manufacturer only handling the project’s manufacturing side.
This report comes after Hyundai stated it’s no longer in talks with Apple regarding the tech giant’s automotive project. The company even publically admitted it was in talks with the company during a recent earnings report before quickly backpedalling on the statement.
Apple has never officially discussed its self-driving electric car project. The company is rumoured to be considering working with several automakers regarding a potential electric vehicle manufacturing partnership.
Source: Financial Times, Reuters
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