While nothing is over, several media outlets reported Friday that Hyundai has confirmed it is talking to Apple. The news was initially reported by Korea Economic Daily TV, although Reuters, Bloomberg and others have reported that Hyundai says it is in some sort of discussion with apple (AAPL) on a car tie.
CNN Business has not been able to confirm the nature of the discussions. Hyundai said in a statement only that “we have received cooperation proposals from several companies, but no decision has been made yet.”
Apple declined to comment.
However, the carmaker’s shares are rising as investors consider the possibility Hyundai (HYMTF) could be a partner in Apple’s long-rumored project. According to data provider Refinitiv, shares rose more than 20% in Seoul, marking the pace of the best day in at least 20 years.
The two companies have reason to consider a partnership. There is talk of Apple’s interest in electric cars driving automatically for years, although it has recently warmed up. A Reuters report last month, citing unnamed sources, said Apple plans to produce a passenger vehicle in 2024. A Bloomberg report this week, which also cited unnamed sources, said Apple has begun early work of development of an electric vehicle, but of any resulting product would be at least five years away.
Hyundai, meanwhile, has promised the maximum dollar to join the race to build these vehicles. The company said last October that it plans to invest 41 trillion won ($ 37 billion) in “future mobility technologies” by 2025, a commitment that places it in the pair of major players like Volkswagen.
In December, Hyundai introduced engineering for a number of new electric cars. This basic structure of the vehicle, called E-GMP, will provide more than 300 kilometers of autonomy, according to Hyundai, and can be charged to 80% of its maximum power in 18 minutes. It can be used as a base sedans and SUVs, the company said.
“We believe Apple is in the early stages of talks and is looking at a handful of strategic partnerships and collaborations globally with existing car manufacturers in the [electric vehicle] ahead, with Hyundai on the radar, ”Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note released shortly after reports of discussions on Hyundai broke for the first time.
He added that cars with automatic driving are probably quite far from Apple given the safety and regulation issues. But he said electric cars are “what could ultimately be a trillion-dollar opportunity globally over the next decade.”
“It’s a smart strategic move for Apple to dive to the bottom of the pool in this new era of [electric] vehicles, ”Ives said.
– Peter Valdes-Dapena and Yoonjung Seo contributed to the communication.
.Source
Related