On July 23, 2015, a Hyundai Motor logo can be seen on a glass door in a branch of a company in Seoul
Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images
South Korean automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors said on Monday they are not in talks with Apple to develop an autonomous vehicle.
Shares of Hyundai Motor fell 6.41% in South Korea on Monday morning, while shares of Kia Motors fell 13.2%. Other subsidiaries, including Hyundai Wia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, also fell sharply.
Hyundai Motor receives requests from multiple companies to collaborate on the joint development of autonomous electric vehicles, but nothing has been decided since it is in its early stages, the company said, according to a CNBC translation of a regulatory filing .
Hyundai Motor is not in talks with Apple about the development of autonomous vehicles, he added.
Its subsidiary Kia Motors, the second largest car manufacturer in South Korea after Hyundai, has submitted a similar application. The company said it was reviewing options to partner with “multiple companies abroad” on autonomous electric vehicles – but nothing has been decided.
Kia Motors also said it was not in talks with Apple.
Hyundai initially said last month it was in the early stages of talks with Apple, but later revised the statement and made no mention of the iPhone maker. At the time, it led to a surge in the shares of Hyundai and its subsidiaries, including Kia Motors.
This month, CNBC reported that Apple was nearing a deal with Hyundai-Kia to produce an Apple-branded autonomous electric vehicle at Kia’s West Point, Georgia assembly plant. Sources told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau that an agreement had not yet been reached and that Apple could eventually decide to partner with another automaker separately, or in addition to partnering with Hyundai.
Shares may fall further
Retail investors have bought Hyundai Motor and Kia shares worth approximately 915.7 billion Korean won ($ 817 million) and 798.8 billion won (approximately $ 713 million) respectively since speculation on Jan. 8 about a possible partnership with Apple, according to Sung Yop Chung, Regional Head of Automotive and Components at Daiwa Capital Markets.
“After the negative vibe from both (Hyundai Motor) and Kia’s this morning highlighting that there is currently no EV partnership with Apple, the worst case scenario suggests that Kia’s stock could correct as much as 31%,” he said. to Chery Kang of CNBC.
It has been speculated for years that Apple is getting into the auto industry, but nothing concrete has come out.
Some Wall Street analysts see the auto industry as a new market for Apple to grow in, but others warn of the reality of making an Apple-branded car as it could potentially mean heavy, low-margin investments.
– CNBC’s Chery Kang contributed to this report.