Hyundai intends to transition the company's Apple Car involvement to its Kia brand as part of an internal arrangement that could see production move to the U.S., according to a new report today.
On Sunday, Korea IT News reported that Apple and Hyundai are seeking a partnership agreement for the upcoming Apple Car by March, and that the electric vehicles could be made at a Georgia factory owned by Kia Motors, a Hyundai Motor Group affiliate.
First spotted by iMore, Korea's eDaily today added its own take on reports that Hyundai plans to hand off the project to Kia, which could see manufacturing take place at its Georgia plant. The following is a machine translation:
It is known that the Hyundai Motor Group, which received a proposal from Apple for electric vehicle-related cooperation, has internally arranged that Kia Motors is in charge of this project. If Kia decides to do this, the Apple car production base will be at Kia's Georgia plant in the US.
The report claims that discussions took place on Tuesday between Kia and its parent company about "Apple Car cooperation," and that following confirmation of the plan, the project could be carried out at Kia's West Point plant, which would "facilitate cooperation with Apple."
It goes on to say that despite reports that Hyundai is in pole position for Apple Car manufacturing, the Korean company has decided that it is "not suitable" for the Apple Car business because of its "strong will" to continue the Hyundai brand. In addition, it does not intend to become an "OEM factory" for Apple cars. The report concludes by stating that Hyundai "is still cautious" and that the move has not yet been decided.
Rumors that Apple is in negotiations with Hyundai first surfaced last week, suggesting that Apple is planning to work with the automaker to produce electric vehicles and develop batteries due to the high costs of the technology and the necessary production facilities.
Hyundai initially confirmed its electric vehicle discussions with Apple in a statement to CNBC, but the statement was revised hours later with no mention of Apple.
Reuters last month reported that Apple Car production may begin around 2024. However, a report from Bloomberg last week said that the Apple Car is "nowhere near production stage" and could be ready in around five to seven years.
Top Rated Comments
In all seriousness. Kia/Hyundai/Genesis makes great cars now. If this is true, this would be great for both them and Apple. I like the idea of it potentially being built (at least somewhat) in the US!
Seriously though, go to your local Kia dealership and test out a Kia Stinger with the 3.3L V6. Your mind will be blown!
after scoffing at Apple for doing so.
Samsung will rush a folding car to market... but it will have hinge issues from road dust they didnt have in test labs and a few battery fires due to super fast charger... each car will have a plastic laminated windscreen and only after a few people peel them off will it be revealed the coating was meant to stay in place. and you'll get free in ear noise cancelling pods which will no doubt add to driver inattention.
I'd definitely give it a try though.
Edit:
Since some people missed the point below - the rumor seems untrue anyway, but:
The point is that Apple is NOT a Kia class product. Kia is down market, known for their unreliability, poor build quality, and low price. Apple is the opposite (except sometimes unreliable until the x.x.1 version). Would I give an Apple/Kia car a test drive? Yes, because of the build quality of most of the Apple products from Macs to iPhones to iPads. One would hope that if this is true, Apple would require a Lexus/Mercedes/Porsche build quality from Kia before being affiliated with it.
Would I buy one that had a rattling doors and would rust in 2 years? No. Having an Apple Car with the build quality from Kia 6 years ago would tarnish the Apple brand and be a disaster. Doing otherwise would be like Apple going to Fero to build iPhone MTN Fero A4001 to run iOS on a $30 phone with a 1MP camera and plastic exterior that could survive a 1 inch drop but no more with Face ID taking 15 seconds to scan.
It should be noted that from what others in the thread have said, Kia has improved, which would be great. The more competition the better. I hope they have great build quality. I don't care about the brand, I care about it being reliable and safe.