“German car and truck maker Daimler is not afraid of new competitors from the technology and telecoms industries, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said on Tuesday,” Edward Taylor reports for Reuters. “‘There is tremendous opportunity in the convergence of the West Coast tech industry and the auto industry with its huge technological depth,’ Zetsche said at the Geneva auto show.”
MacDailyNews Take: That much is true.
“Asked if Daimler would be open to new forms of cooperation with the likes of Apple and Google, Zetsche said they were already cooperating on several levels,” Taylor reports. “‘We are open to any kind of development,’ he said, adding he did not know if rumours about Apple building a car were true.”
MacDailyNews Take: Behind closed doors, they must laugh heartily at that Google car and the intensive mapping (which could change at any time: ‘Oops, where did that baby carriage come from?!’) that it requires to operate.
“Separately, Daimler continues to benefit from strong momentum in luxury-car sales in the first quarter, the CEO said,” Taylor reports. “‘We have to accept that the overall economy will have an effect on sales; we are prepared but we have not seen it yet,’ he said on Russia.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This guy’s got a wide variety of reactions to the idea of an Apple Car.
We’ll check back next year and see if Apple Car is still being talked about or if it’s fallen off the radar.
Related articles:
Apple Car rumors fuel Geneva Motor Show debate about car of future – March 1, 2015
Mercedes-Benz chairman: iPhone guys are not going to just walk in – February 24, 2015