South Korea’s Hyundai Motor looks to have spilled the beans on early talks with Apple to build an electric car. The news sent the company’s stock soaring 23%, as expected.
“We understand that Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor. As the discussion is at its early stage, nothing has been decided,” said Hyundai Motor to CNBC’s Chery Kang.
An earlier report from the Korea Economic Daily said Apple initiated the idea and Hyundai was reviewing the terms, for vehicle and battery production. An Apple electric car would potentially debut in 2027, according to the proposal.
Later, Hyundai issued a revised statement to omit any mention of Apple, saying “We’ve been receiving requests of potential cooperation from diverse companies regarding development of autonomous driving EVs, but no decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage.”
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported Apple had dozens of engineers working on its autonomous electric car efforts, which included numerous former Tesla engineers. But any Apple car was still at least half a decade away.
It’s unclear how Apple will compete against existing automakers, including EV leader Tesla when it comes to electric cars. And to have a launch in at least five years? I can’t even imagine the battery and self-driving technology at that time. Good luck, Apple.
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