[서울신문] Hyundai Motor Company is Apple’s’Sacrifice of Secretism’ Aika candidate prospects

Bloomberg News in the US reported that Hyundai-Kia Motors, Nissan of Japan, and Foxconn of Taiwan are leading candidates for Apple self-driving electric vehicle manufacturers

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▲ The concept image of an apple car.
Carry Porter.com capture

As Apple chooses self-driving electric vehicles as its new growth engine, which company will produce Apple’s iCar is a hot concern.

The US Bloomberg News reported on the 11th (local time) that five companies, including Korea’s Hyundai-Kia Motors, Japan’s Nissan, and Taiwan’s Foxconn, are the most promising candidates.

Apple, like the iPhone produced by Taiwanese company Foxconn in China, plans to enter the autonomous vehicle market by securing a partner for iCar.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors are the companies that have been receiving the most attention so far since reports that Hyundai Motor Company is discussing a joint venture with Apple in Korea last month.

Hyundai Motor Company announced on the 8th, “We are receiving requests for cooperation in joint development related to self-driving electric vehicles from a number of companies, but it has not been decided in an early stage.” “We are not conducting a joint venture with Apple.”

But Hyundai and Kia Motors, which have factories in Alabama and Georgia, are the most likely companies to cooperate with Apple.

In addition, Hyundai Motor Company already possesses electric vehicle technology, which can drive 500km or more on a single charge, and can charge up to 80% of the car battery in 18 minutes. Hyundai-Kia Motors plans to sell 1 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2025.

However, Bloomberg News reports that they have recently fallen victim to Apple’s notorious secrecy. When it was reported in the Korean media that Hyundai Motor Company was negotiating with Apple, Apple responded uncomfortable, and Hyundai Motor Company quickly said that it was “not discussing”.

▲ Hyundai Ioniq 5 concept car ’45’

As Hyundai-Kia Motors has already secured considerable competitiveness in the electric vehicle sector, experts predict that Apple can resume discussions with the Hyundai Motor Group at any time.

Taiwan’s Foxconn, which is already producing iPhones and iPads in collaboration with Apple, is also a strong player.

Although Foxconn is the world’s largest consignment manufacturer of electronic equipment, it has already begun preparing for the production of electric vehicles. Foxconn unveiled its electric vehicle chassis and software platform in October last year, and plans to unveil the battery, the core of electric vehicles, by 2024.

Foxconn has already announced plans to develop and manufacture electric vehicles in China last year through a joint venture with Chrysler.

Nissan of Japan is also considered a strong candidate in the long term. This is because electric vehicles are already being developed and revenue generation is urgent.

Nissan is developing electric cars in collaboration with Renault of France, and plans to release some of the sports utility vehicle (SUV)’Ariya’, which will be released later this year, as an electric car.

Nissan, which suffered the biggest loss in 20 years in fiscal 2019, is expected to generate urgent profits through cooperation with Apple, and is actively working with Apple.

In addition, Bloomberg said that Canadian Magna, the world’s second-largest auto parts supplier, and Stellaantis, a European automobile joint venture, could be candidates for cooperation. Stellaantis is a European automobile group formed by a merger of Fiat, Chrysler and PSA.

Reporter Yoon Chang-soo [email protected]