Foreign press reports that Kia Motors will be in charge of US production of Apple cars at its Georgia plant
Kia Motors Announces “We are reviewing collaboration with many companies, but no decision has been made”
[시사경제신문=이성익 기자] As Apple’s self-driving electric vehicle project enters the stage of actualization, the global automotive industry is excited.
On the 19th (local time), foreign media such as Reuters and Bloomberg News intensively reported on the prospect of Apple’s entry into the automobile market, which had only been rumored.
According to foreign media, Apple is planning to produce self-driving electric vehicles through partnerships with automobile manufacturers using a business model similar to that of iPhone production. If’Apple Car’ is realized, it is expected to have a great impact on the environment of the automobile industry.
In fact, automotive market research firms in the US and Europe predict that the automotive market will change as Apple cars become a collection of advanced technologies. Apple’s approach to outsourcing production is that it is likely to shake the automotive industry’s existing business model, where automakers participate in the entire process from design to manufacturing.
In this situation, a foreign press reported that Kia Motors, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motors, is expected to take charge of the American production of Apple cars. According to foreign media, it is known that Apple and Hyundai Motor Company are negotiating from various angles over a partnership for the production of Apple cars in the US.
Until now, it has been reported that Kia Motors has established a production base in the Georgia plant in the US and is in charge of local production of Apple cars in the US.
Foreign media observed that if Hyundai Motor Company is in charge of mass production of Apple cars, it is concerned that the Hyundai Motor brand will weaken to Apple cars, and that the project has been handed over to Kia Motors. Even if Kia Motors is in charge of the Apple car project, the image of the Hyundai Motor brand may not weaken or be damaged.
In response, Kia Motors drew a line on the 20th that it has not yet decided on the production of Apple cars. Kia Motors announced on the day that “the company is considering cooperation with a number of overseas companies in relation to the autonomous electric vehicle business, but it has not been decided yet.”
However, the stock market seems to be greatly flustered the previous day by reports that Kia Motors was caught in charge of producing Apple cars within the Hyundai Motor Group. Kia Motors recorded an upper limit in off-hours trading the previous day, and also rose to 9,500 won during the intraday in the stock market, ranking at the top 10 in market cap.
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