A lot has been said about the possibility of Apple entering the automotive industry. Rumors about such a daring venture have been going around the Internet for several years, but so far we’re yet to hear anything official from the Cupertino-based giant. Things are definitely in motion though as it’s a known fact that Apple has been hiring well-known automotive engineers lately. And by the hundreds.
With the rise of electric cars on the horizon and the possibility of autonomous driving becoming more vivid than ever, the prospect of seeing cars with the Apple logo on the streets is not as far fetched as it may seem. However, the California outfit knows that making cars is not exactly an easy thing to do and they are currently looking for a well-established manufacturer to do the heavy lifting for them. Earlier this year we saw rumors about Hyundai picking up the plate but those rumors came to an abrupt end towards the end of January.
According to analysts from Sanford C Bernstein, quoted by Bloomberg, BMW could be the perfect match for Apple in this regard: “In our view, BMW would be the ideal partner for Apple,” analysts Arndt Ellinghorst and Toni Sacconaghi said in a report. “Both companies have a leading innovation claim, superior brand equity and design and are excellent in global manufacturing and value chain management.”
The reasoning is there but there are plenty of hiccups in the way that could make sure a collaboration impossible. As a matter of fact, a while back, Tim Cook was seen entering BMW’s HQ at one point and other executives visited the innovative BMW i3 production line in Leipzig to check out the manufacturing process. That was more than five years ago though and if there had been any concrete plans laid out, we would’ve heard about it, even as rumors.
The bigger problem, as the analysts pointed out, might come from a surprising area though. Since Apple is one of the wealthiest companies out there, giving it the tools to make cars could be an issue for the establishment. BMW certainly doesn’t want to become a ‘mere enabler’ for a company that can afford to build as many cars as it wants to later on, as soon as it learns all the secrets behind the craft. This means, every car maker out there will be extremely careful when approached by Apple for such business propositions.
