SEOUL - South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co said on Friday it was in early talks with Apple after a domestic broadcaster said the firms were discussing an electric car and battery tie-up, sending Hyundai shares surging 25%.
“Apple and Hyundai are in discussion, but as it is early stage, nothing has been decided,” Hyundai said in a statement. It didn’t say what the talks were about and omitted a reference in an earlier statement to Apple being in discussions with other global automakers as well as Hyundai. “We continue to strongly believe Apple ultimately announces an EV strategic partnership in 2021 that lays the groundwork to enter the burgeoning EV space,” Wedbush analysts said in a note.
“But I’m not sure whether it is a good strategy for automakers to be like the Foxconn of Apple as automakers face risks of losing control to tech firms,” he added, referring to the Taiwanese contract manufacturer’s supply contract with Apple on iPhones. “Moreover, their labour cost is much higher than that of Hyundai, which often plays a big role when it comes to car production.”A tie-up with Apple would be a major boost to the automaker, whose global sales last year fell more than 15% as the pandemic took a toll on demand. Friday’s share price surge added nearly $8 billion to Hyundai’s market value.
In 2019, Hyundai and auto parts supplier Aptiv launched a $4 billion venture to develop self-driving technologies, naming it Motional. Last month, ride-hailing firm Lyft and Motional said they would launch a multi-city U.S. robo-taxi service in 2023.
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