Just hours after the news of Apple’s alleged $3.6 billion investment in Kia Motors for manufacturing of its electric car surfaced, Bloomberg reports that the share price of the South Korean carmaker has surged by 14% because of it. A few days ago, sources familiar with the matter shared that Hyundai, an affiliate of Kia, was having cold feet when signing a multi-year deal with Apple; they expressed concerns over their future. Having said, the jump in share price might help them make a decision now.
After being in abeyance for years, Project Titan, Cupertino tech company’s autonomous car division is now widely discussed. With new leadership, it is reported that the company is working on a Tesla-like autonomous passenger vehicle, Apple Car, with a revolutionary battery and LiDAR scanners. Instead of setting up its own manufacturing units, the company is said to use Kia Motors facilities in Georgia, United States.
Kia Motors’ share price jumps by 14% because of Apple’s $3.6 billion investment
Although, Apple Car is expected to launch by 2025 or later, it is already creating a lot of commotion in the industry. As per the report, the news of a partnership with Cupertino tech giant has impacted the market value of Hyundai and Kia, differently.
Last month, Hyundai Motor Co., an affiliate of Kia, backed away from a statement that said it was in talks with Apple, revising it to say only it had been contacted by potential partners for the development of autonomous EVs. The news pushed stock in Hyundai up almost 20% on the day. Kia shares are now at their highest since 1997.
Recently, veteran tech analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo shared specs and pricing details of the alleged Apple Car in his investors’ note. He detailed that the electric vehicle would have Hyundai’s E-GMP chassis, offer a range over 500km on a full chart, zero to 100kph acceleration in 3.5 seconds, a top speed of 260kph, and most importantly, charging to 80% in just 18 minutes.
“We predict that Apple will launch the Apple Car in 2025 at the earliest. The new iPhone takes about 18–24 months from initial specification definition to mass production based on experience. Given the longer development time, higher validation requirements, more complicated supply chain management, and very different sales/after-sales service channels for the automobiles, we believe that Apple, which lacks car building experience, is already on a tight schedule if it wants to launch the Apple Car in 2025.”
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