On July 23, 2015, a Hyundai Motor logo is seen on a glass door of a company branch in Seoul
Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images
South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors said Monday they are not in talks with Apple to develop an autonomous vehicle.
Shares of Hyundai Motor fell 6.41% in South Korea on Monday morning, while those of Kia Motors fell 13.2%. Other subsidiaries, including Hyundai Wia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, also fell sharply.
“Hyundai Motor is receiving requests from several companies for cooperation in the joint development of autonomous electric vehicles, but nothing has been decided since it is in its early stages,” the company said, according to a translation of the CNBC of a regulatory record.
“Hyundai Motor is not in talks with Apple about autonomous vehicle development,” he added.
Its subsidiary Kia Motors, which is South Korea’s second-largest carmaker behind Hyundai, presented a similar presentation. The company said it was reviewing prospects for cooperating with “several overseas companies” on autonomous electric vehicles, but nothing has been decided.
Kia Motors also said it was not in talks with Apple.
Hyundai initially said last month that it was in initial talks with Apple, but later revised the statement and made no mention of the iPhone maker. It caused an increase in the shares of Hyundai and its subsidiaries, including Kia Motors, at that time.
This month, CNBC reported that Apple was about to finalize a deal with Hyundai-Kia to manufacture an Apple-branded autonomous electric vehicle at Kia’s assembly plant in West Point, Georgia. Sources told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau that no agreement had yet been reached and that Apple could finally decide to partner with another carmaker separately, in addition to working with Hyundai.
Shares may go down even further
Retail investors have bought shares of Hyundai Motor and Kia worth approximately 915.7 billion Korean won ($ 817 million) and 798.8 billion won (approximately $ 713 million), respectively, since January 8 speculation. on a possible collaboration with Apple, according to Sung Yop Chung, regional head of automobiles and components at Daiwa Capital Markets.
“After the negative atmosphere of both (Hyundai Motor) and the presentation of Kia this morning, stressing that there is currently no EV cooperation with Apple, the worst case scenario suggests that Kia shares could correct up to 31%” , told CNBC’s Chery Kang.
Speculation about Apple’s incorporation into the car business has been plentiful for several years, but nothing concrete has materialized.
Some Wall Street analysts see the auto industry as a new market for which Apple is growing, but others warn against the reality of making an Apple-branded car, as it can mean heavy investments for low margins.
– CNBC’s Chery Kang contributed to this report.