Hyundai is finally clearing up the rumours circulating between the company and iPhone developer, Apple. Following the news, Hyundai shares suffer from a drop. Similarly, Hyundai’s affiliate Kia Corp shares also tumbled upon the news.
Hyundai: no plan to develop autonomous vehicles with Apple
Hyundai puts an end to the rumour between the company and Apple’s tie-up. In compliance with stock market rules, Hyundai needs to give regular updates to investors upon market rumours.
Quoted from Reuters, Hyundai revealed to have been “receiving requests for cooperation in joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from various companies, but they are at early stage and nothing has been decided.” Hyundai further pointed out that “we are not having talks with Apple on developing autonomous vehicles.”
Meanwhile, Apple remained silent throughout the whole time the rumour circulated.
The cancellation of the tie-up between Apple and Hyundai is unfortunate news. Hyundai has contributed a lot in next-generation vehicles development. Last December, Hyundai has just unveiled hydrogen fuel-cell cars and an electric vehicle manufacturing platform. Hyundai has also been accepting other companies’ offers for partnerships. Noted from CNN, two of the companies Hyundai has worked with are namely Chinese search giant Baidu and US chipmaker Nvidia.
Hyundai and Kia stocks slump post-news
The news comes as a dismay to a lot of investors. Just last week, CNBC reported that both companies are close to finalizing the deal. One South Korean report even mentioned that both companies would sign the deal on the 17th of February, Reuters noted.
The news easily swept $2.4 billion off Hyundai’s market value, Reuters reports. As of 04:28 GMT, Hyundai’s stock dropped by 4.3%. Accordingly, Kia Corp also suffers from a 12.8% slump. This further cut off $4.7 billion of Kia’s market value. Kia is likely losing its shares due to the association with Hyundai. Previously, the media reported upon the possibility for Kia to become Apple’s operational partner. Previously, Kia had also thrived from the news with a 61% surge in early January.
Read also: Hyundai and Kia to Be Involved in Apple Car Production
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