Hyundai Is No Longer Collaborating With Apple

Apple is now looking for an automaker with experience on building not just vehicles, but electric vehicles. Hyundai and Kia began talks with Apple a month or so ago. The tech company seemed to encourage the deals by investing $3.6 billion towards Kia. Hyundai has been torn whether they should help Apple with their autonomous car or not. They later decided that Kia would be better for the job.

But now, according to Reuters, Hyundai and Kia have both officially backed out of the project. A Hyundai spokesperson confirmed the news by simply stating, "We are not having talks with Apple on developing autonomous vehicles." Hyundai is simply more interested in launching the Ioniq 5 and Kia 'CV'. Afterwards, Hyundai's shares dropped by 6.2%, and Kia's dropped by 15%. This cut $8.5 billion from their combined market value. But, a question remaining from the incident is "why?"

It is likely because Hyundai is known for having a do-it-yourself approach, since they have produced their own steel and supply chains. So, they probably didn't like the idea of sharing their internal resources with Apple, a company that is new to the auto industry. Apple hasn't yet said anything over the matter, but they are expected to do so soon. As for a manufacturing partner, Apple will have to continue their search. We have recently heard that Nissan is interested...

Source Credits: CarBuzz

Image Credits: Hyundai, Kia, Apple

*Note: Hyundai and Kia's withdrawal does not mean that the Apple car is being cancelled.