Kia and Apple, negotiations are not over… Eight areas including’Last Mile’

Input 2021.02.26 09:15

Hyundai Motor Company (005380)The group said on the 8th of this month that “there is not negotiating with Apple on the development of self-driving vehicles,” but it is known that negotiations are still underway in a wide range of fields including electric vehicle production. Internal evaluation is that the scope of negotiations with Apple is wide and there is still room.

According to an official familiar with the negotiations between Hyundai Motor Group and Apple on the 26th, Apple and Kia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last year and agreed to promote collaboration in eight areas, including electric vehicles. The official said, “The EV negotiations are experiencing difficulties, but they have not completely collapsed.”

Apart from electric vehicles, Kia and Apple are also discussing cooperation in the’Last Mile’ mobility field. Last mile mobility refers to a means of transportation used to travel one mile (approximately 1.6 km) remaining until reaching the final destination after using a specific means of transportation. For example, it is ambiguous to take a taxi to get home after getting off the subway or bus, and kickboards and electric bicycles that are used a little longer to walk are typical.

Both Kia and Apple have similar strategic goals. Recently, the last mile service has been combined with the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous driving, and cutting-edge robot technology, and this field is drawing attention as the future food for the automotive and IT industries. This is because it can be used in the field of logistics and food delivery B2B. The robot dog’Spot’ of Boston Dynamics, an American robot developer acquired by Hyundai Motor Group last year, is also expected to play a key role in the last mile service. Spot can climb stairs and avoid obstacles, as well as equip a robotic arm to pick up objects or open and close doors.

The rumor of cooperation between Hyundai Motor Group and Apple was announced earlier last month. On the 8th of last month, the Hyundai Motor Group said, “We have received requests for cooperation in joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from a number of companies, but it has not been decided.” In the market, speculation that negotiations with Apple had lost momentum were dominant.

Some said that the Hyundai Motor Group has opened up the possibility of cooperation with Apple in other fields, such as electric vehicles rather than self-driving cars. When the contents of electric vehicles were leaked, Apple made a problem with Hyundai Motors violating the confidentiality clause, and for Hyundai Motors, this situation is bound to be burdensome. It is known that Apple is discussing Apple car production with other global companies besides Hyundai Motor Company and Kia.