Report: Apple Held Talks With BMW Over Electric Car Project

Did Apple approach German automaker BMW about building an electric car? Maybe!

German publication Manager Magazin recently reported that Apple last fall initiated talks with BMW about possibly using the body of the BMW i3 electric car as the basis for its own electric car. No deal was reached between the two companies, though they've reportedly agreed to "keep talking" as Apple continues work on Project Titan.

Project Titan is Apple's project to develop an electric car, according to multiple reports in publications like the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. It was the Journal that first reported news of the project, saying last February that Apple has "several hundred" engineers working on the project.

Since then, a steady trickle of reports have further added credence to the idea that Apple is seriously considering entering the car business:

• Apple recently hired a former auto industry executive Doug Betts, who most recently served as a vice president at Chrysler

• Apple vice president of operations, Jeff Williams, said at a tech industry event in May that "the car is the ultimate mobile device"

• Apple in May settled a lawsuit brought by an electric car battery maker that accused the company of poaching its engineers

Of course, just because Apple is working on a project internally doesn't automatically mean you'll be driving down the street in an iCar anytime soon, but this is where things stand right now.