autoevolution
 

Apple Suspends Apple Car Talks Due to Hyundai Spilling the Beans on the Project

At one point, Apple working together with Hyundai on the Apple Car seemed like a match made in heaven, especially because the South Koreans ticked all the boxes when it came to building such a critical product for the future of the Cupertino-based tech giant.
Apple might look elsewhere for the production of the Apple Car 1 photo
Photo: AI
But one box it didn’t tick concerned the way it must handle confidential information, as Hyundai’s excitement on the partnership could now cost the entire collaboration with Apple.

In other words, Apple has decided to suspend the Apple Car production negotiations with Hyundai due to the South Koreans spilling the beans on the project way too early.

Apple is known as a company obsessed with keeping everything secret and prevent leaks about critical products, so back in January when Hyundai confirmed it was in talks with the iPhone maker over the production of an electric vehicle, Cupertino’s head honchos had clearly been taken by surprise.

And a new report reveals CEO Tim Cook and the other executives have recently decided to pause the talks with Hyundai just because they are upset over how Hyundai handled the whole thing. And the really bad news for Hyundai is that Apple is now said to be discussing with other automakers, though it’s believed it’d be rather difficult for the company to find another carmaker with local production capacity and willing to build the Apple Car.

In the meantime, it’s not yet known if Apple plans to resume the talks with Hyundai, but a recent report indicated the company would be ready to invest no less than $3.6 billion in Kia Motors in order to manufacture the EV at its plant in Georgia.

Whether or not Apple comes to terms with Hyundai on this apparently unintentional confidential information disclosure is something that remains to be seen, but at the end of the day, the two might actually have no other option than to do it anyway. Apple needs Hyundai, especially given finding another partner to produce the Apple Car could end up becoming quite a challenge, even for a company as powerful as Apple.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories