Apple has reportedly signed manufacturing duties of its new Apple Car to Kia, a subsidiary of Hyundai.
Earlier this year, Apple and Hyundai were reportedly in talks to work together on the former’s first self-driving vehicle, and now it appears as though Hyundai has taken on the duties and offloaded them onto its subsidiary brand Kia, allowing Apple to take advantage of its facilities and expertise in the sector and speed up the manufacturing as it gears up for Apple Car.
A report from South Korea’s eDaily revealed that Kia Motors has been unofficially put in charge of the project, meaning that its production factory in Georgia will likely become home of Apple Car. It’s not know how or whether the project will affect Kia’s overall business.
According to the report, Hyundai wants to offload the Apple Car project to Kia to maintain the reputation of Hyundai. The company says that its brand is strong and that it could weaken its brand if it makes Apple-branded vehicles ahead of its own. Kia, on the other hand, has a smaller market share and thus a transition to third-party manufacturing wouldn’t damage it.
It’s important to note that we’re still in the very early stages of an Apple Car, and reporting from eDaily has been mixed in the past. However, it is known for its expertise in the automotive supply chain, and so we can say with some degree of confidence that Kia will be involved in the production of Apple Car. Apple reportedly wants to create 100,000 vehicles a year from 2024, and the Kia Georgia facility is capable of producing up to 400,000.
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