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Hyundai appears to be negotiating with Apple to establish a technical partnership on the tech giant’s upcoming autonomous electric vehicle. The Korean manufacturer recently released a statement which confirmed its involvement with the Californian firm but, just hours after the statement’s release, Hyundai revised its wording and removed any reference to Apple.
Originally, Hyundai claimed that it had finalised internal talks on the Apple Car project and was waiting for the approval of its chairman. That statement motivated an $8 billion (£5.8 billion) increase to the company’s market value, which is the largest stock jump Hyundai has seen since 1988.
However, a few hours later, Hyundai issued a hazier version of the same statement which omitted Apple. The firm’s current official stance reads: “We’ve been receiving requests for potential cooperation from various companies regarding development of autonomous EVs. No decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage.”
Apple is yet to release any official information on its new autonomous car, which likely motivated Hyundai to pare back its original statement. But, as it’s primarily a technology company, Apple will need an automotive partner to handle processes such as manufacturing, chassis development and crash safety, should the company go down the route of launching its own dedicated autonomous electric vehicle.
However, in the last two years, Apple has also flirted with the idea of simply developing self-driving vehicle technology, which it could then sell on to third party manufacturers and avoid the expense of producing its own vehicle.
Back in 2017, Apple announced it had abandoned its plans to build an autonomous vehicle, sacking around 200 employees in the process. As part of the restructure, Apple also launched Project Titan – a secretive autonomous technology project, which could now be used as a supplier for a Hyundai autonomous vehicle project.
What do you make of Hyundai’s involvement with Apple on autonomous vehicle technology? Let us know in the comments section below…
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Originally, Hyundai claimed that it had finalised internal talks on the Apple Car project and was waiting for the approval of its chairman. That statement motivated an $8 billion (£5.8 billion) increase to the company’s market value, which is the largest stock jump Hyundai has seen since 1988.
However, a few hours later, Hyundai issued a hazier version of the same statement which omitted Apple. The firm’s current official stance reads: “We’ve been receiving requests for potential cooperation from various companies regarding development of autonomous EVs. No decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage.”
Apple is yet to release any official information on its new autonomous car, which likely motivated Hyundai to pare back its original statement. But, as it’s primarily a technology company, Apple will need an automotive partner to handle processes such as manufacturing, chassis development and crash safety, should the company go down the route of launching its own dedicated autonomous electric vehicle.
However, in the last two years, Apple has also flirted with the idea of simply developing self-driving vehicle technology, which it could then sell on to third party manufacturers and avoid the expense of producing its own vehicle.
Back in 2017, Apple announced it had abandoned its plans to build an autonomous vehicle, sacking around 200 employees in the process. As part of the restructure, Apple also launched Project Titan – a secretive autonomous technology project, which could now be used as a supplier for a Hyundai autonomous vehicle project.
What do you make of Hyundai’s involvement with Apple on autonomous vehicle technology? Let us know in the comments section below…
Continue reading...