Apple’s automotive plan includes a collaboration with Hyundai, according to a report published on Friday by the Korea Economic Daily. He says Apple and Hyundai are working on battery technology that will be different from that used on the automaker’s new battery-powered electric vehicle platform, which will go into production later this year. The report also states that the Apple car will arrive in 2027, but does not offer further details on the collaboration or any possible vehicles or technologies that may arise as a result.
Rumors about an Apple car have been circulating since Apple created an internal group called Project Titan in 2014. As Apple is notoriously quiet, there are few details about the project other than reports of employee layoffs and plans being curtailed. But by the end of 2019, 1,200 Apple employees are believed to be working on the Titan Project, and in December 2020 Reuters reported that an Apple car could hit the streets in 2025.
Meanwhile, the Hyundai Motor Group has quickly emerged as one of the leaders in the BEV engineering package and is about to launch a new platform called E-GMP that will support 23 different new models between now and 2025. Hyundai has opted for an 800V electric architecture for E-GMP that will allow a charge of 80% in 18 minutes. Hyundai is also working with startup Canoo on BEVs.
A Hyundai spokesman confirmed to CNBC that Apple and Hyundai are in negotiations:
“We understand that Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor. As the discussion is in its early stages, nothing has been decided,” said a Hyundai Motor representative to CNBC’s Chery Kang.