Photo: Apple
The overly-discussed Apple Car, or Project Titan as it’s internally referred to, is expected to enter the mass production phase as soon as 2024, with a beta testing stage to kick off at some point next year.
But before Apple can embrace this calendar, it first needs to find a company to build the Apple Car, and recent reports have indicated the iPhone maker has been involved in advanced talks in this regard with none other than Hyundai.
According to people familiar with these negotiations, Apple wanted Hyundai to build the Apple Car at Kia’s factory in the United States, though the company was also considering setting up its own local facility that would be operated by the South Korean carmaker.
While an agreement was originally expected by March, a new report from Reuters reveals that several Hyundai executives are reluctant to work with Apple because of the tech giant’s dictatorial strategy in everything it does.
“Apple is the boss. They do their marketing, they do their products, they do their brand. Hyundai is also the boss. That does not really work,” someone with knowledge of the current state of the negotiations told the cited source.
And while these Hyundai executives believe the company couldn’t work with the iPhone maker because of its obsession with controlling everything, they also emphasize the South Korean firm has never built cars for other brands.
“We are not a company which manufactures cars for others. It is not like working with Apple would always produce great results,” an unnamed executive was quoted as saying.
But at the end of the day, Hyundai just doesn’t want to become another Foxconn, one person said. Foxconn is currently the biggest Apple partner, and it builds the majority of products, including the latest-generation iPhones.
A decision on the partnership with Apple is yet to be made, and it’s not known if the talks are still active. But Hyundai doesn’t seem to be pleased with its role in the collaboration.
“A cooperation may initially help raise the brand image of Hyundai or Kia. But in the mid- or longer-term, we will just provide shells for the cars, and Apple would do the brains,” a company executive said.
According to people familiar with these negotiations, Apple wanted Hyundai to build the Apple Car at Kia’s factory in the United States, though the company was also considering setting up its own local facility that would be operated by the South Korean carmaker.
While an agreement was originally expected by March, a new report from Reuters reveals that several Hyundai executives are reluctant to work with Apple because of the tech giant’s dictatorial strategy in everything it does.
“Apple is the boss. They do their marketing, they do their products, they do their brand. Hyundai is also the boss. That does not really work,” someone with knowledge of the current state of the negotiations told the cited source.
And while these Hyundai executives believe the company couldn’t work with the iPhone maker because of its obsession with controlling everything, they also emphasize the South Korean firm has never built cars for other brands.
“We are not a company which manufactures cars for others. It is not like working with Apple would always produce great results,” an unnamed executive was quoted as saying.
But at the end of the day, Hyundai just doesn’t want to become another Foxconn, one person said. Foxconn is currently the biggest Apple partner, and it builds the majority of products, including the latest-generation iPhones.
A decision on the partnership with Apple is yet to be made, and it’s not known if the talks are still active. But Hyundai doesn’t seem to be pleased with its role in the collaboration.
“A cooperation may initially help raise the brand image of Hyundai or Kia. But in the mid- or longer-term, we will just provide shells for the cars, and Apple would do the brains,” a company executive said.
Google News