Kia Motors’ stock connection talks to Kia Motors

Kia Motors’ stock connection talks to Kia Motors

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The carmaker’s shares closed 9.7% in Seoul on Wednesday, reaching 97,700 Korean won ($ 87.70) per share. According to Refinitiv Eikon, this is the highest level since August 1998.

According to a report by the newspaper Dong-a Ilbo, appeal (AAPL) is about to invest 4 billion won ($ 3.6 billion) in Kia for a partnership to build a new vehicle.

CNN Business could not confirm the report. Kia and parent company Hyundai both declined to comment Wednesday, while Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the newspaper, Kia would start manufacturing cars for Apple at its factory in the US state of Georgia, with an initial target of 100,000 cars per year. The capacity could rise to 400,000 annually, he said.

The newspaper also reported that an agreement could be signed as early as February 17, with the goal of rolling out Apple cars by 2024.

Speculation about Apple’s interest in cooperating with the South Korean car industry has increased recently.

Last month, Hyundai (HYMTF) is reportedly in talks with the iPhone manufacturer to develop electric motors. The news at the time also raised Hyundai’s shares to their best day in at least two decades.

Hyundai had earlier said it was “receiving proposals for co-operation from different companies, but no decision has been made yet.”

Hyundai's stock skyrockets over reports that it is in talks with Apple to build a car

If the deal goes through, Apple’s $ 1 billion investment will go to the production and development of the new car, according to Dong-a.

A collaboration with the South Korean giant can make a lot of sense.

Of all the carmakers, Hyundai was, according to analysts, one of the most open to joining forces with other companies – and even technology companies. Hyundai works beyond its ownership of Kia, also with the Chinese search giant Baidu (BIDU) and American disc maker Nvidia (NVDA) on autonomous management. The large number of existing partnerships could make the company a more attractive partner for Apple.
Hyundai has also already made significant progress with the next generation of vehicles, including hydrogen fuel cell engines and an electric vehicle manufacturing platform that it launched in December.
But Apple may also choose to enter into multiple partnerships, with analysts driving other major automakers as potential options.

– CNN’s Jake Kwon, Jill Disis and Charles Riley contributed to this report.

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