Negotiations for Kia and Hyundai to cooperate with Apple’s self-driving electric vehicle “Apple Car” production have reached the final stage. CNBC reported on Wednesday (2/3), citing Apple’s sources.
Reportedly, negotiations for the production of Apple cars at Kia’s assembly plant in West Point, Georgia, as early as 2024.. The two companies did not express their position on the related reports. But Daily Mail reported on the same day that they could sign a contract around the 17th.
CNBC said Apple’s entry into the auto market is inevitable. And whether Apple will use Hyundai and Kia as partners is still in flux. First of all, CNBC pointed out that the global smartphone market worth 500 billion dollars. While the global automobile and mobility market worth 10 trillion dollars. And this is why Apple is tempted to enter.
Hyundai, Kia and Apple, will it work?
On the other hand, a source familiar with Apple’s car development strategy told CNBC, “We don’t think Hyundai is the only car manufacturer they can make a deal with”. However, Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor stated, “Mobility is the future of the company”. And that cooperation with Apple will help Hyundai Motor advance self-driving technology under joint development with Apple.
Experts predict that Apple will become a competitor directly with Tesla as it is planning to manufacture its first Apple car as a self-driving car. In 2018, Apple hired Doug Field, who was Tesla’s senior vice president of engineering, and other former Tesla employees to work on self-driving cars. Analysts at securities firms predicted that Apple initially aimed to produce 100,000 Apple cars a year, which is comparable to Tesla, which produced less than 500,000 electric cars last year.
