SEOUL / SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Co said it was in initial talks with Apple after Korea Economic Daily TV said the two were in talks to cooperate on electric cars and batteries, causing Hyundai’s shares up 24%.
“Apple and Hyundai are in negotiations, but they are in an early stage and nothing has been decided,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement. The company did not give details about the nature of the negotiations with Apple and did not mention whether the cooperation involved electric vehicles.
Apple Inc declined to comment.
In December, Reuters reported that Apple is moving ahead with self-driving car technology and aims, as early as 2024, to produce a passenger vehicle that can include its own innovative battery technology.
The two companies work together on CarPlay, Apple’s software for connecting iPhones to vehicles from several automakers.
Korea Economic Daily TV said on Friday that Apple and the Hyundai Motor Group were negotiating and that companies should develop batteries at the plants of Hyundai or its affiliate Kia Motors Corp in the United States.
Hyundai Motor shares rose by 23.8%, reaching the biggest increase in more than seven years of 255,000 won ($ 232.56), while auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd rose by almost 30%.
The broader KOSPI market rose 1.9% from 0132 GMT.
($ 1 = 1,096.5100 won)
Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Stephen Nellis; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Gerry Doyle