Mercedes-Benz Maker Remains Open to 'Different Types' of Collaboration With Apple - MacRumors
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Mercedes-Benz Maker Remains Open to 'Different Types' of Collaboration With Apple

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2015 Mercedes Benz copyAmid rumors that Apple is working on a top-secret automotive project ranging from its own electric car to a CarPlay-related technology platform for vehicles, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG remains open to "different types" of cooperation with Apple, reports Reuters.

"Many things are conceivable," Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said in an interview with quarterly magazine Deutsche Unternehmerboerse published on Friday.

Silicon Valley is becoming increasingly important for automakers as vehicles become more deeply integrated with the latest technologies such as CarPlay and Android Auto, and companies such as Apple and Google could play an even bigger role as self-driving vehicles hit the streets over the next five-plus years.

"Google and Apple want to provide system software for cars and bring this entire ecosystem around Apple and Google into the vehicle," Zetsche said. "That can be interesting for both sides."

Last September, Apple hired former Mercedes-Benz R&D President and CEO Johann Jungwirth, who has over a decade of experience working on connected cars, autonomous driving, testing and regulatory affairs and more. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked at Daimler between October 1997 and September 2014 and is now Director of Mac Systems Engineering at Apple.

Johann-Jungwirth-Apple
Apple Car rumors gained momentum in February when The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has hundreds of employees, including former Tesla, Ford and GM engineers, working on an electric vehicle at a top-secret research lab possibly located in the Sunnyvale area. The rumored project, known internally as "Project Titan," could be under testing at GoMentum Station, a former naval base in the Bay Area.

Tags: Daimler, Mercedes-Benz
Related Forum: Apple, Inc and Tech Industry

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Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
AngerDanger
145 months ago
I only see this happening if Mercedes can manufacture a car so thin that an adaptor is required to hold passengers, which will also need to be redesigned.



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Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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2457282
144 months ago
I'll say it again, I don't see Apple putting technology in someone else's product. The last time they did that was Motorola ROKR and we all know how that turned out. Right now I see CarPlay as iTunes on the ROKR.
I owned the ROKR - two actually. But your point is important. Apple first install their software on someone else's hardware and in the process learned about phones. Later they built their own phone. The same could be true here.

CarPlay-related technology platform
This could be their first step into the car business. My sense is that apple isn't like google that likes to make big splashes with half baked ideas. They will get there slowly and methodically and end up with a significantly more polished product in the end. Apple has never been first (except for the original apple computer that was the first commercially successful personal computer), but they have consistently come in and done it better (except for some of their services, like Music, Maps, and iCloud).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dontwalkhand Avatar
dontwalkhand
144 months ago
Owning a Sprinter 2013, I deeply wish Apple stay clear of Mercedes... Mercedes are real unreliable POS. Check Rating on Consumer Reports and other rating source like :http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32332210 REMEMBER JUST AN UNRELIABLE POS!
I can't speak of the Sprinters but my 2003 C240 is going strong at 153,000 miles with nothing but regular oil changes, brakes, and tires. My dad's ML320 had 450,000 on the clock before he got hit head on by a semi truck and survived. I say having it be made by Mercedes would make it very reliable and safe at that.

Unlike the 2002 BMW X5 we had that had nothing but electrical problems.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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fallenjt
144 months ago
BMW provided platforms and engines to Wiesmann, Mercedes provides AMG engines to Pagani and will provide engines, platforms and electronics to Aston Martin (has 5% stake in it)
AMG? That's pathetic.


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Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
69Mustang
145 months ago
How about neither? Apple didn't go to Tag and say lets do a Watch together, they did their own. I don't know if BMW manufactures for others but if they do I could see Apple partnering in that way as I don't see Apple doing their own manufacturing.
None of the big automotive companies are single source manufacturers anymore. There is so much platform sharing it's hard to say what's from whom in cars today. BMW and Toyota are partnering on a platform that will become a small hybrid/EV sports coupe for both companies. Different sheet metal but the same architecture. There's no doubt if Apple produces a car it will be based off architecture from current manufacturers and contract assembled, that's if the car is intended for mass production. If the volumes are boutique like Ferrari or Lamborghini, the car could be manufactured anywhere.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
69Mustang
145 months ago
Great. Now instead of a log-in screen on my Mac, there'll be an ignition switch..
Ignition switch? More like... ;) Someone should request that Anger Danger create an image with one of these on the 27" iMac. But make it classy.:cool:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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