In May 2018 Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple's Autonomous Shuttle Service will use Volkswagen Vans." The report noted that Apple had signed a deal with Volkswagen to turn some of the carmaker's new T6 Transporter vans into Apple's self-driving shuttles for employees. The vans would have a lush interior reminiscent of a lounge or living room, where passengers face each other instead of the road. Since that time, little has been heard about the autonomous shuttle bus deal with Volkswagen.

With the buzz of a possible Apple car sweeping technology news site headlines, we now hear from Volkswagen's Chief Executive Herbert Diess stating that rich technology companies like Apple and Google pose a much bigger threat to the German manufacturer than traditional competitors like Toyota.

Diess said in a LinkedIn post when asked about reports that Apple Inc. is developing a self-driving car: "We look forward to new competitors who will certainly accelerate the change in our industry and bring in new skills. The unbelievable valuation and the practically unlimited access to resources instill a lot of respect in us."

Diess mapped out a plan during an internal meeting last week to pit VW’s huge Wolfsburg plant against Tesla Inc.’s factory that’s under construction outside Berlin. The electric-car maker’s new site in Gruenheide is bound to stoke competition for engineers, workers and customers on VW’s home turf.

Diess added "I’ve said it before: the most valuable company in the world will again be a mobility company. It could be Tesla, Apple or Volkswagen." True, and it could also be an Apple + Volkswagen collaboration, considering that the two companies were working on a project together back in 2018.  For more read the full Bloomberg report.