Visuals_Trends related to joint development of’Apple Car’
Discussions on joint development of Apple’s’Apple Car’ with Hyundai Motor Group, which had been handed down in megatons since the beginning of the year, have been stopped. Apple cars, known as self-driving electric vehicles, attracted public attention because they are the first joint products of the two companies, a global company. Some have raised the possibility that the two companies will cooperate again through subsurface contact, but it is difficult to guarantee as the difference between the two sides has been officially confirmed.
On the 8th, Hyundai Motor Company, Kia, and Hyundai Mobis said, “We are receiving requests for cooperation in joint development of self-driving electric vehicles from a number of companies, but it has not been decided at an early stage.” “Consultation on the development of autonomous vehicles with Apple I am not doing it.” On the 8th of last month, discussions on cooperation between Hyundai Motor Group and Apple’s’Apple Car’ were temporarily halted after a month after it became known.
Negotiation table’fight for leadership’ seems to be the main reason for stopping discussions
The concept image was drawn in the image of Apple’s electric car. Carry Porter.com capture
Last month alone, positive outlooks followed on the possibility of cooperation between the two companies. On the 19th of last month, when news came out in Korea that Kia would produce apple cars at its Georgia plant in the US, the US economic media CNBC said earlier this month that the two companies were nearing the conclusion of negotiations. In a report recently sent to investors, Ming-chi Guo, a researcher at Taiwan’s TF International Securities, known as the’Apple expert’ said, “Apple Car is based on Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle platform’E-GMP’, and Hyundai Mobis is in charge of designing parts, The factory will produce finished cars.” On the 5th of this month, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) announced that Apple will invest 3 billion dollars (about 3.4 trillion won) in the expansion of the Kia Georgia plant production facilities, and the cooperation between Hyundai Motor Group and Apple has solidified. However, on the afternoon of the same day, the news at Bloomberg and Reuters news that Apple recently stopped discussing with Hyundai Motor and Kia for electric vehicle development changed the airflow.
First of all, the Hyundai Motor Group is questioning the reason for the suspension of negotiations. An official of the Hyundai Motor Group said, “We cannot confirm any contents related to Apple other than those disclosed in the public announcement.” It is predominantly observed that the two companies’ cessation of discussions related to Apple Cars may have resulted from a struggle for leadership at the negotiating table. Looking at the past process of entering the overseas smartphone market, Apple has repeatedly broken down negotiations and re-discussed several times in the process of selecting a local mobile communication company or component partner. Apple has always taken advantage of this process.
Professor Jeong Gu-min of the Department of Electronics Engineering at Kookmin University said, “As in the past when both Samsung and LG were pressured to lower unit prices in the process of selecting Apple’s’iPhone’ display company, this interruption of negotiations is also the position of’A’ for margins and liability for breakdowns and accidents It will be a strategy to preoccupy the company,” he said. “However, since the electric vehicle industry is different from smartphones and semiconductors, there is a high possibility that Apple will not work as intended.” It is explained that it will not be easy if Apple, with no experience in the automobile industry, comes out again with the past strategy that has been mainly used in the smartphone market.
Hyundai Motor Group,’Overwhelmed’ of Competitors of Self-driving Electric Vehicle Technology… Negotiations may resume ↑
Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle platform’E-GMP’. Provided by Hyundai Motor Group
However, the industry observes that the possibility of resumption of negotiations between the two companies is sufficient. Among the partner candidates that Apple is in contact with, there are many reviews that the Hyundai Motor Group has relatively excellent competitiveness. In addition to the Hyundai Motor Group, Apple is discussing with Apple with about 10 automakers including GM, FCA-PSA of the United States, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Subaru of Japan, and Foxconn-Geo of China. However, among them, there are limited places that can meet all the conditions that Apple wants, such as △mass production, △high-level assembly, △electric vehicle-only platform, and unit price.
“It is difficult to meet the low unit price in Europe, Japanese car makers lack technology in the electric car field, and China’s trade conflict is an obstacle, so it can be seen that the competitiveness of Korean companies is ahead.” The fact that the Apple Car is not just an electric car but is expected to appear as a next-generation’mobility (mobile)’ equipped with autonomous driving functions, and that Hyundai Motor Group is the main target for negotiations can be seen as official recognition of related technology. He said.
Ryu Jong-eun reporter [email protected]
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