In an interview on Decoder’s latest podcast episode, Ford CEO Jim Farley was quizzed about the automaker’s plans for Apple CarPlay Ultra support. In the lead-up to CarPlay Ultra launching earlier this year, Apple’s latest list of automakers who had pledged support included Ford, according to 9to5 Mac.

Historically, Ford has been a strong partner with Apple in supporting CarPlay but now it’s been months since CarPlay Ultra officially launched, so when can Ford owners expect support? Not any time soon if Farley’s comments are anything to go by,.

On the latest episode of Decoder, Joanna Stern asks Ford’s CEO if the company is “considering” CarPlay Ultra. His response isn’t as enthusiastic as Ford drivers might hope.

“We are. We don’t like the execution in round 1 of Ultra, but we’re very committed to Apple. I’ve talked to Tim many times about this.”

Farley then explains his belief that Ford doesn’t have the right to disrupt a person’s digital life when they get in the car. They want to “make it as easy as possible” for drivers to seamlessly continue using their preferred technology.

All of this sounds relatively positive. But reading between the lines, it appears that despite the previous pledged support, CarPlay Ultra is not actively in the works for future Ford vehicles.

In the interview Farley seems to imply that CarPlay Ultra requires giving Apple control over essentially every aspect of how the vehicle operates.

For example, he mentions how pro customers can have vehicle access limited on the weekends, or use speed limitations. He then says:

“Is Apple going to want to do that? If Apple wants to do that, I think we’re going to have a tough time with that. I’ve talked to the Apple team, and our team is in contact with them. I think Apple has to decide, do they want control of the entire experience inside a vehicle? If they do…then I think Ford will have to make a big decision. And I kind of know where we would go. We just believe ADAS [advanced driver assistance systems] integration with your entertainment system is so critical.”

(Pic: Apple)