Daimler Won't Become A Mere Hardware Supplier For Any Apple Car Project

Looks like Daimler, the German automaker behind Mercedes-Benz, won't be supplying any hardware parts for Apple's Project Titan. According to the company's CEO, Dieter Zetsche, although a collaboration with companies like Apple and Google is conceivable, Daimler doesn't want to become a mere parts supplier.

In an interview with German quarterly magazine Deutsche Unternehmerboerse, Zetsche said "Google and Apple want to provide system software for cars and bring the entire ecosystem around Apple and Google into the vehicle" and "that can be interesting for both sides."

His comments come following Volkswagen's, where Daimler's German competitor urged collaboration with tech firms to make cars safer and more intelligent.

Although Daimler could work with tech companies on joint projects, Zetsche stopped short by reiterating the company's stance on the collaboration. "We don't want to become contractors who have no direct content with customers any more and supply hardware to third parties," he added.

This news comes at the back of Apple poaching engineers from Daimler for its car project in recent times. Apple's Project Titan has received a lot of media attention lately. The latest was that Apple was trying to sign up with GoMentum Station in the San Francisco Bay Area for testing its electronic car.

Source: Reuters
Concept image source: 'latheeshmvilla' via Freelancer