Shares of Hyundai Motor Co. traded more than 20% in Seoul on Friday after the South Korean carmaker confirmed it was in talks with Apple Inc. to develop a self-driving electric motor.
“Apple and Hyundai are in discussion, but it is at an early stage, nothing has been decided,” Hyundai said in a statement.
That was enough to boost Hyundai’s 005380,
the strongest intraday trading profit since at least 1988.
Korean news website Hankyung first reported on the Apple News, saying Hyundai would manufacture the Apple-designed car as well as develop batteries for it.
Separately, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that Apple AAPL,
at least five years to develop an autonomous car. Bloomberg also reported that a number of former TESla Inc.-TSLA,
managers were added to the project.
It has been rumored for years that Apple is working on a self-driving car and has gone back and forth between developing its own car and developing the technology for one. Last month, Reuters reported that Apple wants to develop a passenger car again with a target date of 2024.
Apple shares rose more than 3% on Thursday and have risen 69% in the past year, compared to a 7% increase by the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
of which the component has existed for the past twelve months.