Hyundai may be in talks with Apple about joint development of autonomous electric cars. The Korean car manufacturer confirmed that, according to Reuters in a statement, but then took it offline again. However, a collaboration between the two parties does not seem inconceivable.
Apple has been secretive about developing its own car for some time now. At the end of last month, it was announced that Apple is reportedly planning to market the car that is currently known as ‘Project Titan’ in 2024. The tech company would be in talks with Hyundai for this, it reports Reuters now. The Korean automaker said in a statement that it is talking to Apple, but that “talks are still in the early stages and nothing has been decided yet.” Hyundai later took the statement offline, replacing it with “ requests from multiple companies to collaborate on autonomous electric vehicles. ” It is not known whether the amendment of the statement was made under pressure from Apple. The tech company was according to Reuters not available for comment.
Exchange of knowledge
After this news, Hyundai’s share shot up by almost 25 percent on the stock market. Despite the fact that both parties are now secretive about a possible collaboration, it is not inconceivable that Hyundai and Apple will join forces. Apple would have to produce at least 100,000 cars per year to be able to save money. It takes a considerable investment to set up this production capacity yourself, so it would pay for Apple to find a manufacturing partner. In addition, Apple could possibly use Hyundai’s E-GMP platform. In that case, the Koreans can again benefit from Apple’s knowledge of software. This may also accelerate the implementation of techniques that make autonomous driving possible.