Apple Previously Planned to Partner With BMW for Electric Car Project

[Maura]

According to a report from Germany’s Manager Magazin, via AppleInsider, Apple approached BMW in 2014 with a view to collaborating on an electric car, with BMW’s own i3 commuter car said to be the basis of Apple’s car.

AppleInsider notes that while details about Apple’s apparent plans are few, it’s possible that the company was interested in using BMW’s “LifeDrive” architecture, which is a design that separates the i3’s drivetrain and battery module from the passenger cabin.

The report says that Apple CEO Tim Cook even visited BMW’s electric car facility in Leipzig along with several senior managers from Apple. For some reason Apple changed its mind about working with BMW, and the report gives no suggestion as to why the decision to end the talks with BMW was made. However, AppleInsider says that BMW had been concerned that the i3’s low sales could have affected the future of its own “i-series” range, so possibly that had something to do with it. We may never know!

Source: Apple reportedly eyed BMW s i3 electric car as basis for branded vehicle