Hyundai and Kia not in talks with Apple to develop autonomous vehicle

After recent weeks of speculation, Hyundai and Kia confirmed that they are not in talks with Apple to develop an autonomous vehicle.

According to Bloomberg, regulatory filings made by both automakers indicate that they were in discussions with several companies about autonomous electric vehicles (EVs), but no decision has been made. Shares of both automakers fell sharply after the report was released.

The latest statement is no different from the one Hyundai issued a month ago when it backtracked on a statement that it was one of the several global automakers to be in discussions with Apple.

Sources told Bloomberg that Apple paused discussions with Hyundai and Kia several weeks ago. While Korean publication DongA claimed that Apple will be investing $3.6 billion in Kia to build the Apple Car, a separate report by Nikkei suggests that Apple has approached at least six automakers on the autonomous EV project.

Kia was also reportedly seeking potential partners to build the Apple Car. CNBC reported last week that the first generation of Apple Cars will be designed to operate without a driver. While it is still unclear on which automaker will collaborate with Apple, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the Apple Car to arrive in 2025 at the earliest.