Nissan open to discussions about working with Apple on an ‘Apple Car’ : Apple World Today

Let the “Apple Car” rumors roll on. With Hyundia out of the running (well, maybe) as a partner with Apple to build an electric, self-driving vehicle, a new candidate has emerged: Nissan.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said his company was open to a deal in response to a question during a press conference about the company’s latest financial results. 

As technology transforms the auto industry, “we need to take new initiatives” and “work with companies that are knowledgeable, with good experience, through partnership and collaboration,” he said.

The Nissan Motor Company is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands.

Speaking of Apple-branded vehicles, the tech giant more than doubled road testing of its self-driving cars in 2020 as its autonomous technology improved, “though it still significantly lags behind rivals as it looks eventually to launch a consumer vehicle,” according to Bloomberg (a subscription is required to read the entire article).

The tech giant’s self-driving cars drove 18,805 miles on California roads in 2020, up from 7,544 miles in 2019, according to a report filed with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.