Apple turned to Nissan for cooperation on autonomous car project

Apple approached Japan's Nissan in recent months on cooperation issues as part of its secretive autonomous car project, but talks are no longer active, Report informs, referring to the Financial Times.

The contact was brief, and the discussions did not advance to senior management levels following divisions over branding for the iPhone maker's electric vehicles.

Apple also recently halted talks with South Korea's Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia, underscoring the challenges of finding an automotive partner for its car efforts, known as Project Titan.

Ashwani Gupta, Nissan's chief operating officer, said the Japanese group 'is not' in talks with Apple, whose interest in entering the auto industry goes back to 2014.

"We have our own customer satisfaction, which comes by car. No way we are going to change the way we make cars. The way we design, the way we develop, and the way we manufacture is going to be as an automotive manufacturer, as Nissan," Gupta said.