The long rumoured Apple Car is, still seemingly a pipe dream with several automakers denying they are in cahoots with Apple.

The latest denial comes from Nissan after reports surfaced at the weekend that it had been approached by Apple to work on an autonomous vehicle.

That report came from the Financial Times (paywall) which claimed that Apple had approached Nissan. However, that report also stated that talks quickly dissolved as Nissan was reluctant to assemble vehicles for Tim Apple and co.

Now a spokesperson has told Reuters that Nissan is not in talks with Apple.

“However, Nissan is always open to exploring collaborations and partnerships to accelerate industry transformation,” the spokesperson said.

Importantly, Nissan’s statement doesn’t refute reports that talks were taking place, only that talks are no longer happening.

If the Financial Times report is accurate, this could pose something of a problem for Apple.

This is because it’s increasingly starting to look as if none of the automakers rumoured to have been in discussions with Apple, want a hand in developing or assembling this vehicle.

While Hyundai-Kia recently said it wasn’t working with Apple on a car, there are still rumours that the two firms are working together. The South Korean automaker is also providing Apple, or whichever firm is building the car, with elements that will make it function.

One of those elements could be Hyundai-Kia’s E-GMP platform. This platform consists of two motors, rear suspension, drive axle, battery cells, charging systems and other chassis components.

While Apple could develop these components, why would it when it could simply buy the platform and build its own vehicle atop it.

That option would save it the time and cost of developing its own solution, though Apple has a habit of keeping production in-house as much as possible.

Will the Apple Car ever get made? We’ll have to wait for something more than a rumour to know for certain.