Photo: Hyundai
While Apple has been struggling to remain tight-lipped on its plans to build an electric car, the rumor mill has been feeding us with plenty of insider information and leaks that eventually helped everybody keep track of the progress made on the project.
And as it turns out, the Apple Car, or Project Titan as it’s internally being referred to, has reached a point where Apple needs to find a manufacturing partner. People close to the matter said back in January that Hyundai was Apple’s favorite pick, especially because its Georgia plant operated by Kia could be used for the production of its electric vehicle.
What happened next was something that didn’t typically align with Apple’s way of doing business. In just a few words, Hyundai itself confirmed it was discussing with Apple about the production of an EV, the South Koreans then said they weren’t actually in talks with the iPhone maker, more reports came out of a possible collaboration between the two, and then people close to the matter said an agreement was just a matter of time.
Fast forward to last week, and here’s another report, this time claiming the talks have been suspended because Apple didn’t like how Hyundai spilled the beans on the project. So, in theory, the negotiations are on hold, and Apple is even believed to be looking for another partner to build the Apple Car.
Now Hyundai and Kia told Bloomberg they aren’t in talks with Apple for the production of an autonomous car, and the report reiterates the Cupertino-based tech giant is already discussing with other manufacturers.
On the other hand, Hyundai admitted in its regulatory filing that it’s currently holding talks about autonomous EV production, but of course, no specifics were included. Hyundai is still likely to build the Apple Car anyway, eventually.
It's worth emphasizing that the talks between Apple and Hyundai are suspended, not abandoned for good, and the iPhone maker doesn’t seem to rule out resuming them at some point in the future.
For Apple, finding another partner to build the Apple Car would be a challenging process, as such a company would have to meet plenty of requirements, including having local production capacity. Cupertino is also considering building its own plant to manufacture the Apple Car, but then again, its partner would need to handle the operations.
So eventually, Hyundai is still the one that ticks all the boxes, and it remains to be seen if Apple and the South Korean brand come to terms on this. In the meantime, Hyundai’s share fell 8.4 percent in Seoul after denying talks with Apple.
What happened next was something that didn’t typically align with Apple’s way of doing business. In just a few words, Hyundai itself confirmed it was discussing with Apple about the production of an EV, the South Koreans then said they weren’t actually in talks with the iPhone maker, more reports came out of a possible collaboration between the two, and then people close to the matter said an agreement was just a matter of time.
Fast forward to last week, and here’s another report, this time claiming the talks have been suspended because Apple didn’t like how Hyundai spilled the beans on the project. So, in theory, the negotiations are on hold, and Apple is even believed to be looking for another partner to build the Apple Car.
Now Hyundai and Kia told Bloomberg they aren’t in talks with Apple for the production of an autonomous car, and the report reiterates the Cupertino-based tech giant is already discussing with other manufacturers.
On the other hand, Hyundai admitted in its regulatory filing that it’s currently holding talks about autonomous EV production, but of course, no specifics were included. Hyundai is still likely to build the Apple Car anyway, eventually.
It's worth emphasizing that the talks between Apple and Hyundai are suspended, not abandoned for good, and the iPhone maker doesn’t seem to rule out resuming them at some point in the future.
For Apple, finding another partner to build the Apple Car would be a challenging process, as such a company would have to meet plenty of requirements, including having local production capacity. Cupertino is also considering building its own plant to manufacture the Apple Car, but then again, its partner would need to handle the operations.
So eventually, Hyundai is still the one that ticks all the boxes, and it remains to be seen if Apple and the South Korean brand come to terms on this. In the meantime, Hyundai’s share fell 8.4 percent in Seoul after denying talks with Apple.
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