As appeal (NASDAQ: AAPL) decides to join the car industry, it seems Hyundai Motor (OTC: HYMTF) it could be the choice of his partner.
Shares of Hyundai rose 20% on Friday after Korean media reported that the carmaker was in talks with Apple about the co-development of a self-driving car. Apple’s interest in the car space has long been discussed. It was rekindled late last year following media reports that the technology giant has a small team of hardware engineers working on drivetrains, vehicle interiors and vehicle tire design.
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If Apple were to climb into cars, it looks likely to work with another manufacturer, such as its phones, tablets and other electronic devices.
Hyundai later distanced itself from the talk at Korean time, saying only that it had received requests for potential cooperation from a number of companies. A partnership with Apple will give Hyundai a significant boost to its brand, potentially enabling the company to collaborate and share part of the burden of developing autonomous techniques and power measurements.
Apple is notoriously mysterious and has advised business partners in the past to discuss collaboration. Bloomberg reported Thursday that the so-called “iCar” development is still in its early stages, and that any product launch is at least half a decade over. Assuming this is the case, Apple is probably not in a hurry to choose a manufacturing partner.
It has long been assumed that if Apple decides to develop a vehicle, it will work with third parties instead of developing the manufacturing capability internally. In addition to Hyundai, the Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna International was also mentioned as a potential partner.