A Kia Motors plant in Georgia in 2015.
Photo:
Todd J. Van Emst / Associated Press
That Corp.
000270 1.33%
has approached potential partners about a plan to bring Apple together Inc
AAPL 2.58%
the long-awaited electric car in Georgia, according to people familiar with the subject.
The proposal would involve a multimillion-dollar investment, according to people familiar with the matter, who stress that no agreement has been reached. If successful, it would propel the iPhone maker into the auto business after several years of secret work in which its engineers plotted the auto industry for more than a hundred years.
The likelihood of a final deal was called into question when Kia’s parent company, Hyundai Motor Group,
he said last month, and then tried to downplay, that he was in negotiations with Apple to cooperate with a car without an electric driver. Apple has never confirmed these talks and its agreements with other automakers in the past have faded.
Hyundai has spoken with Apple about investing more than $ 3 billion in a deal that would allow its subsidiary Kia to start building cars under the technology company’s brand as early as 2024, said a person familiar with the matter . Under the agreement, up to 100,000 vehicles could be assembled in the first year in Georgia, where Kia has a factory, the person said. The Korean newspaper Dong-A IlBo previously reported the scope of the possible deal.
—Ben Foldy contributed to this article.
Write to Tim Higgins to [email protected], Elizabeth Koh to [email protected] and Cameron McWhirter to [email protected]
Copyright © 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
It appeared in the February 5, 2021 print edition as “Kia is looking for partners to build Apple Car.”