Porsche says it’s talking to Apple about joint projects, reveals new hybrid 911
iPhone, iPad … iPorsche?
Executives from Porsche have traveled to the US to discuss possible joint projects with Apple, the automaker’s CEO said Friday at an event where he also detailed the company’s electric vehicle plans.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume did not give details on any collaboration but said the two companies are “on the same wavelength” and have a record of working together closely.
“We already have Apple CarPlay, we will expand on that,” Blume said, adding that Porsche leaders have also met with executives from other, unnamed US tech firms.
The news comes amid rumors about Apple releasing its own vehicle. In November, Bloomberg reported that Apple is pushing to release an electric, self-driving car with 2025 as a possible launch date.
The company was hiring aggressively for its car division, including by poaching a former Tesla executive, and was looking to start road-testing vehicles soon, the site reported at the time.
Apple and Porsche did not immediately respond to request for comment.
During Blume’s comments Friday, he also detailed Porsche’s ambitious electric vehicle targets, saying he expects more than 80% of the company’s newly sold vehicles to be fully electric in 2030.
Some of the remaining vehicles that are not fully electric will be hybrids, including a new hybrid version of Porsche’s iconic 911 sports car, Blume said. He did not give details or a release date for the hybrid 911.
Porsche’s only current electric vehicle offering, the $150,000 Taycan sedan, was responsible for about 14% of all Porsche sales in 2021, according to CNBC. The company sold 41,296 Taycans last year, topping 38,464 sales of the 911, the outlet reported.
By comparison, Elon Musk’s Tesla delivered 936,172 vehicles worldwide in 2021.
Porsche’s electric push comes as its parent company Volkswagen is looking to potentially spin off the company through an initial public offering.
Volkswagen has come under pressure to sell off its Porsche division, which is worth an estimated $226 billion, to help fund its electric push and compete with Tesla, according to the Financial Times.
With Post wires