Apple met with EV startup Canoo as it moves forward with the Apple Car project

Things are certainly starting to heat up in regards to the oft-rumored, and yet still unofficial Apple Car. The news cycle won’t give up on Project Titan, and it certainly sounds like an Apple-branded car is on the way.

Of course, nothing is official quite yet, and plans can change. But, if the rumor mill is any indicator, then Apple is hard at work on creating its very first electric automobile. And with today’s report from The Verge, that is certainly the case. According to the publication, Apple met with an EV startup called Canoo, which is based out of California as well.

The Verge says that Apple met with the startup in the first half of 2020, and conversations included a couple of different options. That includes an investment option, or an acquisition. The report says that Apple is interested in the company’s “scalable electric vehicle platform”, what’s called the “skateboard”. Apparently it’s a different design than what other companies are doing out there in the market, as it “integrates more of the car’s electronics, allowing for greater flexibility in cabin design”. The startup also offers steer-by-wire technology in the design, which apparently increase design flexibility.

The report indicates that while conversations potentially leading to an acquisition were heard, that’s not what Canoo was all that interested in. The EV startup was hoping to get an investment from Apple. However, that did not come to life, and the talks between the two companies ultimately dissolved.

Canoo doesn’t openly comment on strategic discussions, relationships or partnerships unless deemed appropriate,” Tony Aquila, Canoo’s executive chairman, said in a statement to The Verge. Apple declined to comment.

As mentioned above, things have certainly grown more interesting in this space as of late. Reports have circulated on a semi-regular basis leading into 2021 that Apple is still hard at work on its upcoming Apple Car, but that production is still “half a decade away“.

And, most recently, Reuters reported that Apple is in negotiations with the automobile manufacturer Hyundai to build its self-driving car. And, if that pans out, the vehicle may see the light of day in some capacity by 2024.

It’s interesting to hear that Apple spoke with Canoo, but it sounds like Canoo was talking with a lot of different companies in 2020, per the report. That includes other companies in Silicon Valley, as well as in China, and in other markets as well. Those talks took place in 2019, too.

Are we actually going to see an Apple-branded car at some point in the near-ish future? It’s certainly starting to look that way.

Is this a project you’re interested in at all? Or do you think Apple is overreaching?