Apple and Hyundai may have hit brakes on their Apple Car relationship

Based on the past few weeks, Apple and Hyundai have had the business equivalent of a high school relationship. First they were just friends, then going steady, and now they appear to have broken up, and Apple’s got the hots for someone else. All on a suitably compressed timeline, of course.

The breakup was reported Monday by Bloomberg. It says that Apple has paused discussions with Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors about building an Apple Car. Apple’s now supposedly talking to other car companies about the possible deal.

The report continued that:

“The South Korean carmakers also said in regulatory filings Monday they were in talks with multiple companies about autonomous EVs, but that no decision has been made. Shares of Hyundai, which said discussions with partners were in early stages, fell 6.2% in Seoul, while Kia slumped 15%.”

The Hyundai/Apple Car rumors have played out over the past several weeks. Apple Car rumors have been reported for the best half decade. However, they have gone into (no pun intended) overdrive in 2021. The idea of partnering with another automaker is that Apple needs a partner since establishing its own plant would “cost billions of dollars and take many years,” Bloomberg notes.

Apple and Hyundai

In early January, Hyundai said that it had participated in conversations with Apple. It later pulled back from these reports and removed Apple’s name from some of its public statements. Initial reports suggested Apple and Hyundai would sign a deal by March. They would then start production around 2024 in the United States — with beta testing before then.

More recently, it seemed possible that Apple’s partner would be Hyundai subsidiary Kia. They were said to be on the brink of a $3.6 billion deal to build Apple Cars in Georgia. The reason for Kia, rather than parent company Hyundai, is that Hyundai worried it would be perceived as simply an Apple assembler.

It’s not clear what the sticking point that caused the breakdown (or pause) in talks may have been. Still, like any twist-and-turns relationship, they could both be back together before you know it!

Source: Bloomberg

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