BMW’s new CEO told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that he is open to exploring a deeper partnership with Apple, Reuters reports. Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with senior managers working on BMW’s i3 electric car and opened negotiations to use the body of the i3 as the basis for Apple’s own electric car.
Those talks broke off amid big personnel changes at BMW, with Apple opting to pursue creating a car on its own and BMW skeptical of sharing its manufacturing expertise with outsiders, but BMW’s incoming CEO Harald Krueger said similarities between the BMW and Apple brands provide the potential for both companies to benefit from a partnership. “Fundamentally, both partners need to profit from the cooperation, otherwise it will not last.
And both companies need to share the same principles, for example with regard to data security,” Krueger said.
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