Apple in talks with Rivian, likely over Apple Car revival

Apple is said to be investigating a partnership with a US electric vehicle firm, believed to be Rivian, in a move that could mean reviving the Apple Car.

The whole Apple Car project was reportedly scrapped in February 2024, with its team redeployed to AI work. Unusually, the cancellation of a decade-long project was even seen as good news by analysts.

However, according to Digitimes, Apple is even now contemplating a partnership with an EV firm. Beyond a belief that the firm is Rivian, there is no further detail — and even citing supply chain sources, Digitimes specifically says the news is speculation.

If it’s correct, then it’s not clear how recent the news is, or whether it actually predates the cancellation. Then the scope of Apple’s investigation is not known either.

An Apple Car partnership would seem the most obvious outcome of a deal with Rivian, and it would not be the first time that Apple has at least approached other car firms. None of those previous arrangements with firms such as Hyundai or Kia worked out, however.

Plus it’s also possible that Apple and Rivian are actually discussing the car maker finally adopting Apple CarPlay. Rivian currently does not support either CarPlay or Android Auto, and Apple is pursuing getting an extended version of its software into many vehicles.

Digitimes has a good track record for supply chain sources. However, it has a much poorer one for what conclusions about Apple it draws from those sources.

Separately, once Apple had apparently cancelled the Apple Car, analyst Gene Munster said the company should buy Rivian.