The Apple Car may be made by the same people who create BMW cars on contract according to Frankfurter Allgemeine, a German daily newspaper. If what Frankfurter Allgemeine reports is accurate, then Apple plans on using Magna International to manufacture the car.
Magna is headquartered in Canada, but its founder has Austrian roots. According to 9to5Mac, Magna specializes in creating limited-edition models for various automobile brands, including the both the Mini Paceman, Mini Clubman and the BMW X3.
Frankfurter Allgemeine reports that Apple has assembled a secret team in Berlin numbering about two dozen, with most of the hires being ex-employees of the multitude of luxury car brands in the area.
9to5Mac also reports that Magna has presented at a global automobile conference that apparently Sixty Eight Research has attended before. While the link is tenuous, as AppleInsider pointed out, Sixty Eight Research is widely regarded as a front for Apple’s car division.
Magna was founded by Frank Stronach in 1957, and operates on a corporate constitution. This essentially means that profits are distributed to employees and shareholders under. Samsung acquired Magna’s battery-pack business in early 2015, during which time Magna executives met with Samsung executives. Samsung ended up buying the whole battery-pack business, however, including all the employees and business contracts.
