Apple is speaking with automakers about electric vehicle ambitions
- Hyundai confirmed it was in early-stage talks with Apple about potentially working together to develop an electric car.
- Hours later, the company revised the statement twice, indicating that Apple had proposed collaborations with a number of global automakers, and later omitting the company from their statement completely.
- Previous rumors have indicated a 2024-2028 launch for an Apple electric vehicle.
Hyundai, a South Korean car company that has recently made significant strides with electric vehicle development, said it was in early-stage talks with Apple about potentially working together to develop an electric car. Not long after, shares of the company surged 20% ($8 billion) after the brief statement caught the attention of the media and investors.
Hours later, the company revised the statement twice, indicating that Apple had proposed collaborations with a number of global automakers, seemingly backtracking a bit from their original statement.
From CNBC:
“We understand that Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motors. As the discussion is at its early stage, nothing has been decided,” said Chery Kang, a representative from Hyundai Motors.
Hyundai later released an updated statement that avoided the mention of Apple and said, “We’ve been receiving requests of potential cooperation from diverse companies regarding development of autonomous driving EVs, but no decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage.”
Apple is known for its secretiveness when it comes to new products and partnerships. This is just speculation, but it is likely that the company backtracked on the statements after the Cupertino company heard about it in the media. Last month, news emerged that Apple was moving forward with self-driving car technology with a 2024 launch date. However, it has since become clear that 2025-2028 is a more realistic time frame.
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