(Bloomberg) –
Hyundai Motor Co. and its subsidiary Kia Motors Corp. said they are not with Apple Inc. is in talks about collaborating on the development of a self-driving electric vehicle, following reports and speculations that they are working with the technology giant.
The South Korean car manufacturers have talked to several companies about autonomous development of electric cars, but no decision has been made, they submitted in regulations on Monday. Hyundai said the discussions are at an early stage. Hyundai shares fell to 8.4% in Seoul, while Kia fell 15.3%.
Apple Inc. interrupted talks with Hyundai and Kia weeks ago about building an electric vehicle, people familiar with the matter said late last week. Apple discussed similar plans with other automakers, adding the people and asking not to be identified because the information was not disclosed.
Hyundai’s statement is almost identical to the statement it issued a month ago, after the company confused its message around the much-anticipated Apple vehicle, which first confirmed to local Korean media reports that it was in talks with the technology area. and thereafter reviewed his statement twice in a case. of hours. Hyundai finally said it had received requests for potential collaboration from a number of companies.
Apple’s plans for an electric vehicle are secret, but there is intense scrutiny. This is because the car project can improve the car industry, similar to the way iPhones, iPods and iPads are shaking up the consumer electronics market. There are now millions of design-conscious buyers worldwide dedicated to the technology giant.
Investors increased shares in Hyundai by nearly 20% on January 8, and in the weeks that followed were speculated that carmaker Cupertino, California, could partner with Apple. Earlier this month, another report said Kia would receive a $ 4 trillion ($ 3.6 billion) investment from Apple to make EVs, which would increase its inventory by 10%.
Days later, a report by the Japanese Nikkei newspaper said Apple was in talks with at least six carmakers to develop its EV, while Dow Jones said Kia had approached potential partners over a plan to buy Apple’s electric car in Georgia. to assemble.
Geely, Baidu
Like many large technology companies working on coupled and intelligent mobility solutions, Apple is likely to partner with a automaker as well. Setting up a car plant can cost billions of dollars and take many years.
In the last few months, there has been a rash in this regard, from China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. which has cooperation agreements with the Chinese searchbeemoth Baidu Inc. and Apple’s Taiwanese manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology Group forged, into Foxconn signing a manufacturing agreement with Chinese EV startup Byton Ltd.
An Apple car will compete with cars from Tesla Inc., as well as Nio Inc., Li Auto Inc. and Lucid Motors, as well as established players such as Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG.
EV sales are booming in Europe and will reach a record high in 2020 and it is expected to be another period of growth, supported by a range of new models. China is already the largest EV market in the world, with deliveries rising by almost 10% last year to 1.11 million units, data from the Chinese Passenger Car Association showed last month.
BloombergNEF predicts that the acceptance of EVs will accelerate in the 2030s, and by 2050, approximately 65% of all miles traveled will be electric for passenger vehicles. By 2050, EVs will account for 73% of all new car sales worldwide and there will be approximately 800 million passenger vehicles on the roads out of a total fleet of 1.5 billion passenger vehicles.
Kia Verfris
Hyundai recently developed a new EV-dedicated platform and plans to build 23 models on it, starting with the Ioniq 5 in March in Europe and followed by a Kia brand later this year. EVs manufactured on the platform can load up to 80% capacity within 18 minutes and add driving distance within just five kilometers to 100 kilometers. They have a top distance of 500 kilometers at a single charge.
Kia rebranded last month with a new, slimmer logo, deleted its oval badge and announced a fresh slogan ‘Movement that inspires’ to replace its older ‘Power to surprise’ mantra.
“Kia’s new logo represents the company’s commitment to becoming an icon for change and innovation,” said CEO Ho Sung Song. “The automotive industry is experiencing a period of rapid transformation, and Kia is proactively shaping and adapting.”
(Update the shares in the second paragraph.)
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
Sign up now to stay ahead of the most trusted business news source.
© 2021 Bloomberg LP