Porsche says they have talked to Apple about joint projects

iPhone, iPad … iPorsche?

Porsche executives have traveled to the United States to discuss possible joint projects with Apple, the automaker’s CEO said at an event on Friday, where he also detailed the company’s plans for electric vehicles.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume gave no details on a collaboration, but said the two companies are “on the same wavelength” and have a close working relationship.

“We already have Apple CarPlay, we’re going to build on that,” Blume said, adding that Porsche executives also met with executives from other unnamed US tech companies.

The news comes amid rumors of Apple releasing its own vehicle. In November, Bloomberg reported that Apple is pushing to launch an electric, self-driving car with 2025 as a possible launch date.

The company was aggressively hiring for its auto division, including poaching a former Tesla executive, and was looking to begin road-testing vehicles soon, the site reported at the time.

Apple and Porsche did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

During Blume’s comment on Friday, he also detailed Porsche’s ambitious goals for electric vehicles, saying he expects more than 80% of the company’s new vehicles sold to be fully electric by 2030.

Some of the remaining vehicles that aren’t fully electric will be hybrids, including a new hybrid version of Porsche’s iconic 911 sports car, Blume said. He did not give any details or a release date for the hybrid 911.

Porsche’s only current electric vehicle offering, the $150,000 Taycan sedan, accounted for about 14% of all Porsche sales in 2021. according to CNBC. The company sold 41,296 Taycans last year, surpassing 38,464 sales of the 911, the outlet reported.

For comparison: Elon Musk’s Tesla delivered 936,172 vehicles worldwide in 2021.

Porsche’s electric push comes as parent company Volkswagen intends to potentially spin off the company through an IPO.

Volkswagen has come under pressure to sell its Porsche division, valued at an estimated $226 billion, to fund its electric push and compete with Tesla. according to the Financial Times.

With mail wires