Hyundai Motor confirmed last month that the company is in talks with Apple about the tech giant's ambitious project to build its own self-driving vehicle, now called the Apple Car.
The two companies were expected to conclude an Apple Car manufacturing agreement by the end of March this year. But a couple of days ago, there was information that the companies may have suspended negotiations.
Hyundai and Kia have confirmed that the company has completed talks with Apple to produce the Apple Car, the tech giant's future autonomous vehicle. In regulatory filings, Hyundai and Kia said both firms had received requests from multiple divisions to develop a self-driving electric vehicle, but no decision had been made as negotiations were at an early stage.
During the talks, it was speculated that Hyundai would move production to the United States, operating a Kia-controlled plant in Georgia with a goal of producing 100 vehicles by 000. It could also be related to Apple's $ 2024 billion investment to make the project a reality.
Although negotiations with Hyundai and Kia ended without a deal, the status of negotiations with other companies with Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), not yet known. Earlier it was reported that the US-based tech giant spoke to at least six Japanese automakers at the same time.
Based on previous reports, Apple plans to produce commercial vehicles by 2024, but that schedule seems aggressive and has already been questioned by many, including renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Some reports indicate that Apple Car will go into production in about 5-7 years.
