All the excitement over a potential self-driving vehicle deal between Apple and Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors appears to be all for naught.
Hyundai, largely responsible for starting the speculation, revised its narrative and on Monday reported discussions with many companies.
A regulatory filing revealed general talks to be ongoing but with no decision.
“Hyundai Motor is getting requests from multiple companies for cooperation in joint development of autonomous, electric vehicles but nothing has been decided since it’s in an early stage,” the company said in the filing.
“Hyundai Motor is not in talks with Apple on Autonomous vehicle development.”
Hyundai may have jumped the gun last month, confirming that it was in talks with Apple about a potential partnership.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that negotiations had stopped because Apple was “upset” by Hyundai’s erroneous statement last month. Hyundai and Kia Motors have now confirmed this change.
Predictably, both South Korean carmaker stocks took a beating in Monday trading.
Shares of Hyundai fell 6.2% in Seoul, while Kia slumped 15%.
According to people familiar with the process in a Bloomberg story, Apple paused discussions with Hyundai and Kia weeks ago about building an electric vehicle, and has discussed plans with other auto manufacturers.
Those people in the Bloomberg report asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Apple wants to keep a tight lid on those developments, given the company’s potential impact on the self-driving auto industry.
What’s next? A CNN Business story suggested Apple may choose multiple partnerships, with Honda, Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover and Geely, the Chinese owner of Volvo, as possible options.
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