FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German Volkswagen is not concerned about Apple’s plans for a passenger car that could contain the iPhone manufacturer’s battery technology, CEO Herbert Diess said.
Reuters reported in December that Apple may have made enough progress to build a mass-market vehicle by 2024, aided by cost savings in battery technology.
“The automotive industry is not a typical tech sector that you can take over in one fell swoop,” said Diess in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
“Apple won’t be able to do that overnight,” he added.
While Apple’s plans are not public, Diess said the intentions as such made “sense” because the company had expertise in batteries, software and design, and had great pockets to build on these competencies.
“Still, we’re not afraid,” he said.
Volkswagen plans to develop in-house software needed for self-driving cars in order to compete with electric car data tech companies.
Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Alexander Smith