Apple Car Deal with Kia and Hyundau are a No Go

Reports had recently surfaced that tech giant Apple was in talks with Kia and Hyundai for a car production deal but these talks have stopped dead in their tracks.

Kia and Hyundai are no longer in talks with Apple on an electric vehicle according to sources who told Bloomberg.

The discussions between the iPhone maker and Hyundai had “paused recently” and the company is in similar discussions with other automakers, sources told Bloomberg.

Both South Korean carmakers confirmed they are no longer in talks on an Apple car in regulatory filings.

The Bloomberg report had read, “Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said that they aren’t in discussions with Apple Inc. on cooperating to develop a self-driving electric vehicle, following reports and speculation that they were working with the tech giant. The South Korean carmakers have been talking with multiple companies about autonomous electric car development, but no decision has been made, they said in regulatory filings Monday.”

Bloomberg had said last week that Apple will invest $3.6 billion to build Apple cars at a Kia facility in Georgia, citing a report out of Korea.

That report had said a deal could come Feb. 17 with Apple cars launching in 2024. Apple and Kia were said to be initially targeting 100,000 Apple cars a year.

It is unlikley when the Apple Car project will happen but Japan’s Nikkei newspaper has reported that Apple is in talks with “at least six automakers” for production of its all-electric, self-driving car.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.