BERLIN (Reuters) -Google and Porsche are in talks over a possible deal to allow Google Apps to be used in Porsche cockpits, German business magazine Manager Magazin reported on Thursday, citing managers from both companies.
A focus of the deal would be access to Google Maps, the report added.
Spokespeople for Porsche and Google were not immediately available for comment.
Porsche Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke said at a conference call last October that the company was in close contact with Google and Apple as well as Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba in China following the end of its cooperation with Volkswagen’s Cariad unit on software research and development.
Porsche had previously been reluctant to use Google software because Google asked for too much data to be shared, according to Manager Magazin, even as Volkswagen brand Audi enabled its customers to connect their vehicles to Android phones.
Porsche managers travelled late in 2021 to the United States to discuss possible joint projects with iPhone maker Apple, whose CarPlay software already features in Porsche vehicles.
Porsche, which overtook its former parent as Europe’s most valuable carmaker after listing on the stock exchange last September, reported earlier on Thursday a 3% rise in deliveries in 2022.
(Writing by Rachel More and Victoria Waldersee, Editing by Miranda Murray)
