South Korea's Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia have confirmed that they are not holding talks with tech giant Apple about the development of autonomous vehicles, sending share prices tumbling down by 6% and 15% respectively.
Hyundai. Credit: lincolnblues / flickr
Hyundai. Credit: lincolnblues / flickr
The two companies said yesterday that they have held talks with many companies about working together on the development of self-driving vehicles, but no decision had yet been made. Apple has not commented on the matter.
Read more: Apple & Hyundai to team up on autonomous EVs, claims Korean news
Last month, Hyundai announced that it was holding early-stage talks with the US technology giant about a potential electric car tie-up. The potential partnership, which would have heralded Apple's entry into the highly competitive EV industry had been expected to shake the sector up.
Since the news broke, shares in both companies have surged based on speculation and two unsourced reports by South Korean tech news outlet ET News claiming that the Hyundai and Apple were close to a deal and that Kia was tipped to produce the vehicle in its factory in the US state of Georgia.
That Hyundai confirmed the initial talks came as something of a surprise to industry watchers and some analysts have said it probably irked the notoriously secretive Apple.
While some analysts believe the talks could be resumed later, it may put Hyundai at a disadvantage, having lost some international credibility over the leaks.
Nonetheless, if Apple wants to break into the automotive market, it still needs an experienced partner with large-scale production capacity and the tech to turn its designs into roadworthy vehicles.
Read more: Hyundai to develop own EV platform & charging systems
Regardless of a tie-up, Hyundai has laid out its plans for a 60% boost in electric vehicles sales this year, by launching new models on its own dedicated platform.
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