Apple Inc.’s attempt to build its own car may have faced a setback with a report claiming that negotiations with a number of German car makers have ended unsuccessfully.

According to German publication Handlesblatt, Apple had held talks with both BMW AG and Daimler AG but failed due to a disagreement over who controlled what in any joint project.

“Sources said the talks with both German carmakers collapsed over the key questions of who would lead the project and, above all, which company would have ownership of the data,” the report claims. “Apple wants the car to be closely built into its own cloud software, while the German carmakers have made customer data protection a key element of their future strategy.”

“The talks with BMW collapsed last year, while those with Daimler collapsed more recently,” the report added.

News that Apple is working to build its own electric vehicle isn’t new, with the company said to have hired hundreds of people to work on the project in February 2015.

Further confirmation that the project was progressing came in July last year when it was disclosed that Apple had hired Doug Betts, who had previously been the Global Head of Product and Service Quality at Fiat Chrysler; although his role at Apple was never disclosed, a company does not hire employees with specific car industry experience unless it was interested in building cars.

Magna

Despite Apple being unsuccessful in its talks with Daimler and BMW, it would appear that they are still continuing to push forward with the project, with the report from Handlesblatt claiming that Canadian-Austrian firm Magna International, Inc. is currently favored by Apple to co-design and manufacture the iCar.

Magna is the largest car parts manufacturer in North America, and although it doesn’t currently sell its own vehicles, it does actually operate vehicle assembly lines on behalf of other manufacturers; essentially Magna’s role in a potential future Apple car is that the company has the expertise to not only manufacture the parts for the car, but put it together as well.

As a contractor, Magna would also have zero issues with Apple in terms of data sharing or who took the lead on the project.

Apple for its part has never confirmed nor denied that it was making a car, and it’s unlikely that its official stance will change anytime soon.

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