A Hyundai Motor logo is seen on a glass door at a Seoul branch on July 23, 2015
Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images
South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors said Monday they are not in talks with Apple to develop an autonomous vehicle.
Shares of Hyundai Motor fell 6.41% in South Korea on Monday morning, while shares of Kia Motors fell 13.2%. Other subsidiaries, including Hyundai Wia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, also fell sharply.
“Hyundai Motor is receiving requests from several companies for cooperation in the joint development of autonomous electric vehicles, but nothing has been decided since it is in its infancy,” the company said, according to a CNBC translation of a regulatory dossier.
“Hyundai Motor is not in talks with Apple about the development of autonomous vehicles,” she added.
Its affiliate Kia Motors, which is South Korea’s second-largest automaker, behind Hyundai, has made a similar record. The company said it was looking at cooperation with “several foreign companies” on autonomous electric vehicles – but nothing was decided.
Kia Motors also said it was not in talks with Apple.
Hyundai initially said last month that it was in early talks with Apple, but later revised the statement and made no mention of the iPhone maker. This led to an increase in the shares of Hyundai and its subsidiaries, including Kia Motors, at that time.
This month, CNBC reported that Apple was close to finalizing an agreement with Hyundai-Kia to manufacture an Apple-branded electric vehicle at the Kia assembly plant in West Point, Georgia. Sources told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau that no agreement has been reached yet and that Apple may eventually decide to partner with another automaker separately or in addition to working with Hyundai.
Shares may decline further
Retail investors bought shares of Hyundai Motor and Kia worth about 915.7 billion Korean won ($ 817 million) and 798.8 billion won (about $ 713 million), respectively, from January 8 speculation. on a potential collaboration with Apple, according to Sung Yop Chung, regional chief of automobiles and components at Daiwa’s capital markets.
“After the negative vibration of both (Hyundai Motor) and the Kia filing this morning, stressing that there is currently no EV cooperation with Apple, the worst case scenario suggests that Kia shares could correct up to 31%,” he told CNBC Chery Kang.
Speculation about Apple’s entry into the car business has been plentiful for several years, but nothing concrete has materialized.
Some Wall Street analysts see the automotive sector as a new market for which Apple can grow, but others warn against the reality of making an Apple car because it could mean heavy investments for small margins.
– CNBC’s Chery Kang contributed to this report.