Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only way it could possibly work was always as an apple branded model under the umbrella of another manufacturer, with their support and dealership network. Think polestar being its own brand but using Volvo workshops for servicing and support, as well as using a lot of Volvo parts internally. I can imagine an Apple car that's just a really fancy version of an existing car, with their own infotainment.
Oh, this I could also see. Apple hates to partner with others, for the most part, which is why I don’t think that happened. And some of that is for good reason. The awfulness of the Motorola Rokr is what convinced Steve Jobs that Apple had to fully own and control the iPhone. And Apple is showing off parts of Car Play that could be fully integrated by manufacturers in a much deeper way, assuming they want to give up…
It makes sense for companies like Netflix to shy away from the Apple "walled garden." They want to deliver a unique experience with exclusive content, not just be another content supplier to the Apple experience. They don't want to wind up like the record companies.
But car manufacturers? There's a whole lot of stuff going on w.r.t. your driving experience. Like driving. Hundreds of physical things. Etc. Unlike the media industry I can't think of a future where the car companies eventually find themselves subsumed by allowing CarPlay integration.
Then again, I can't tell what's the main fear... if car companies are scared of getting iTunes'd, or if they really just want that revenue from 5% of car buyers paying for the Premium GM Infotainment Experience Recurring Subscription or whatever.