Apple and Hyundai subsidiary Kia may collaborate on making electric vehicles, with a domestic production deal having the latter initially churn out 100,000 Apple Cars per year.
Apple will reportedly spend four trillion won, which works out to about $3.6 billion, as part of its collaboration with Kia. Bloomberg relays a local report from South Korean news outlet Dong-A, which claims that a production deal should be finalized and signed around the end of February. The report is short on specifics so we don’t know what the investment is for.
Kia’s facility can produce up to 400,000 units per year, the report says. Evidence has been mounting that Project Titan, as the Apple Car is referred to, has made progress lately.
What’s Kuo Saying?
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said in a research note to investors, seen by AppleInsider, that any automotive partnership between Apple and Hyundai would need to include both design and manufacture services.
Apple has no other choice but commission established manufacturers to build its vehicles, at least until it builds out its own automotive supply chain. That could take years. Plus, an electric car contains about 40 to 50 times more parts than a smartphone, the analyst says.
Apple’s deep collaboration with Hyundai Group, GM, and PSA who have extensive development, production, and qualification experience will significantly shorten the Apple Car development time and create a time-to-market advantage.
The research note goes on to note that Apple will initially focus on self-driving hardware and software, semiconductors, battery-related technologies, form factor, internal space designs, innovative user experience, and the integration with its existing ecosystem.
Possible Apple Car Specs
Kuo says Apple’s car will use Hyundai’s new E-GMP electric vehicle platform. A press release on the Hyundai website lists these numbers for a “high-performance model”:
- 310 miles (about 500 km) maximum range
- Fast-charging up to 80 percent capacity in 18 minutes
- 0-60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds
- 160 mph top speed, or about 260 km
Should Apple adopt E-GMP, these could be the Apple Car specs.
Apple Car Rumor-Mill in Overdrive
Company executives have confirmed that Apple was in talks with Hyundai about a potential car-making deal. But Apple is not fond of leaks, so that statement was revised soon after to say that Hyundai discusses these kinds of partnerships with many companies.
We then reported how the Hyundai leadership was split over any potential Apple Car deal, the chief concern cited being a potential culture clash.
Apple has never publicly commented on Project Titan.
Why Apple Needs to Expand Into Cars
Building an electric car is a multi-year endeavor—just ask Tesla’s Elon Musk. That being said, Apple has the right organization, supply chain, and production expertise to make it all happen. The Apple Car may make a lot of sense as a lucrative new revenue stream.
JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee says the total addressable market for the automobile industry is approaching $2.5 trillion. The total addressable market for smartphones, by comparison, is valued at about $420 billion. Given the thin margins on cars, however, Apple’s vehicle will probably be a high-end product with premium pricing.
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