German sports car manufacturer Porsche Automobil Holding SE (OTC:POAHY) hinted at discussing a potential partnership with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).
What Happened: Porsche executives had discussions with Apple and a few other tech companies in the U.S. late last year, the automaker's CEO Oliver Blume said on the earnings call, Reuters reported.
Blume suggested the discussions with Apple were on "exciting common projects." The Porsche top brass underlined the fact the two companies have traditionally cooperated closely.
The German automaker already uses Apple CarPlay and Blume said the company will expand on that. The executive did caution that it was too soon to finalize future projects.
Blume also said Porsche is still mulling over whether to enter Formula One.
Related Link: Why Cupertino Could Get Its Act Together With Its 'Apple Car' Project
Why It's Important: The report is likely to stir speculation that Apple and Porsche may have discussed a self-driving car partnership.
Ever since the Apple Car rumors resurfaced in late 2020, speculation regarding the tech giant mulling potential partnerships with several companies has been doing the rounds.
Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman, who is fairly accurate with his Apple predictions, said in November the company might be leaning toward making a fully self-driving car that doesn't need any human intervention.
Earlier this week, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the entire Apple Car project team has been disbanded and if the company doesn't reorganize the unit in the next three to six months, it might be tough to keep up with the speculated launch timeline of 2025.
AAPL Price Action: Apple shares were up 0.29% at $161.08 at publication Friday morning.
