Apple, Hyundai Reportedly Team Up for Car Initiative

Need to Know

• A recent report from a Korean publication claims that Apple is in talks with Hyundai to launch an autonomous electric car.
• The two companies could potentially release an electric car in the US by 2027.
• Apple, which has not issued a statement, is reportedly in discussions with a number of automakers.
• The report claims we could see a beta version of the Apple Car by 2022.

Analysis

Apple and Hyundai are reportedly penning a deal to begin building an autonomous electric car. The news that the two companies could potentially release an electric car in the United States by 2027 sent Hyundai shares up by about 20% this week. 

The Korean publication that first leaked the story claimed that “the two companies would build the vehicles at the Kia Motors factory in Georgia and jointly invest in a production facility that could roll out 100,000 vehicles around 2024. The annual capacity of the future plant was said to be 400,000 vehicles.” 

The report also claimed that we could expect to see a beta version of the vehicle by 2022. 

Hyundai confirmed to multiple media outlets that “Apple and Hyundai are in discussion, but as it is at early stage, nothing has been decided” and “we understand Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor.” 

While Apple has not yet issued a statement, a report from Bloomberg claims that the tech giant has a small town working on Apple Car and that the company has filled its team with a number of former Tesla executives.  

The report states that Apple’s goal is to “re-imagine a car’s interior for a future in which people ride passively rather than steer.” 

For a company that started out in the world of computers, Apple now has its toes in almost every industry. After expanding into the world of cell phones with the unveiling of the first iPhone in 2007, Apple has expanded into health care with its Health app, and newest feature Health Records, which displays important health information such as medications and vaccination history. 

Apple grew its position in the finance industry in 2020 with the expansion of the Apple Card, a virtual credit card that allows buy now, pay later payments that can be used on basically any Apple device.  

And as 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic brought massive interest in digital fitness, Apple jumped on board, entering the fitness space with the launch of its own subscription workout platform, Apple Fitness+.

Despite these rumours of a partnership with Hyundai, Apple is reportedly looking at a number of options for strategic partnerships with automakers before finally launching Apple Car.