Is the iCar on the way? Apple seeks stakes in supercar maker McLaren and electric motorbike startup

Apple Inc, ramping up efforts to disrupt the transportation industry, is seeking a stake in luxury carmaker McLaren and is in talks to buy Lit Motors, an electric motorbike startup, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The technology giant would more likely make a large investment in UK-based McLaren than buy it outright, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Apple wants to acquire Lit Motors because the San Francisco startup has several international self-driving patents, said another person. BMW, Audi and a South Korean automaker are also actively pursuing a Lit deal, the person said.

Eager for a new hit to replace the iPhone, Apple has hundreds of engineers working on car design and has been targeting a release as soon as 2020. While the company has been focusing more on self-driving software in recent months, it has never abandoned efforts to build its own vehicle or tie up with an established carmaker, according to people familiar with Apple’s thinking. With sports cars starting at almost US$200,000, McLaren would bring brand strength, advanced engineering and a portfolio of patents to the equation.

The Financial Times earlier reported that Apple was considering buying all of McLaren or taking a stake in the carmaker. The New York Times earlier reported Apple’s talks with Lit Motors.

McLaren denied it was negotiating with Apple. “I can confirm that McLaren is not in discussion with Apple about any potential investment,” Michael Flewitt, chief executive officer of the automotive unit, said in a text. Apple, Lit Motors, BMW and Audi declined to comment.

McLaren was likely to be valued from 1 billion pounds to 1.5 billion pounds (US$1.3 billion to US$1.95 billion) the said. That would make it Apple’s biggest acquisition since the $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics, the audio group founded by Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine, in 2014.