• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, March 13, 2023

Porsche AG has reaffirmed that the company is in talks with Google about integrating its software into its car technology.

Oliver Blume, Porsche CEO, said on Monday that the two companies are in ongoing discussions about the partnership after presenting the brand's full-year results for 2022.

The integration would give customers access to Google applications such as Google Maps and Google Assistant without the need to connect the car to an Android device, but reports make no mention if the same would occur for users of Apple iOS phones.

Reuters initially reported on the possible feature in January. The deal is only being considered for the Porsche brand and not former parent Volkswagen Group. Some consider Porsche to be a technology company.

Porsche Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke said on a conference call last October the company also was in close contact with 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 has previously been reluctant to use Google software because Google asked for too much data to be shared,” according to Automotive News.

General Motors, Renault, Nissan and Ford are among car companies with embedded Google technology in vehicles via a Google Automotive Services (GAS) package, offering Google Maps, Google Assistant and other applications.

Porsche’s EV roadmap now includes an electric SUV a step above the Cayenne and will be based on a new Porsche-developed SSP Sport electric vehicle platform. It should arrive in 2027.

The biggest challenge for EV batteries is harshly cold temperatures below 45 degrees.