Hyundai has confirmed that it is no longer in discussions with Apple about the Apple Car.
Last month, the car brand announced that it had held talks with Apple about the possibility of a self-driving car project, and it then revised its statement to say that Apple was working with multiple car makers on the technology and that nothing concrete had been confirmed.
Just weeks later, however, Apple and Hyundai reportedly entered advanced talks and discussed a $3.6 billion investment in Hyundai’s subsidiary brand Kia Motors in the United States.
However, it now appears that Apple has hit the brakes on the potential partnership, with the Cupertino company reportedly disappointed in Hyundai for disclosing so much information about the potential partnership.
A statement from Hyundai has confirmed that the two companies are no longer in talks, with Bloomberg reporting: “Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said that they aren’t in discussions with Apple Inc. on cooperating to develop a self-driving electric vehicle, following reports and speculation that they were working with the tech giant.
“The South Korean carmakers have been talking with multiple companies about autonomous electric car development, but no decision has been made, they said in regulatory filings Monday.”
Although it’s disappointing that Apple and Hyundai will not be working together on an Apple Car, the truth is that the murmurs behind the scenes confirm that the project is indeed on the cards. How and when we’ll see Apple Car surface remains to be seen, but it’s exciting nonetheless.