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The South Korean automaker Hyundai and the American tech giant Apple are apparently preparing to collaborate on the development of robot cars.
The iPhone maker and Hyundai are in talks to develop self-driving electric vehicles and batteries in US factories by 2027, the broadcaster Korea Economic Daily TV reported on Friday without giving any sources.
Hyundai confirmed contacts with Apple, but did not initially say what it was about: "Apple and Hyundai are in talks, but they are at an early stage and nothing has been decided yet," it said in a statement.
The group later announced in a registration application that there were "requests for cooperation in the joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from different companies".
Apple declined to comment.
VW, Daimler & Co. have to fear being left behind
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The report shot Hyundai shares 25 percent.
Reuters had only reported shortly before Christmas, citing insiders, that Apple wanted to launch an autonomous vehicle by 2024.
In this context, there was also talk of a breakthrough in battery technology.
The development of our own vehicle, which began a few years ago as part of the “Titan” project, is correspondingly far advanced.
Should Apple put such a car on the road with Hyundai, it would not only be a challenge for the US electric car manufacturer Tesla.
All major automakers are currently working on self-driving vehicles.
Volkswagen, Daimler & Co must fear that they will be left behind by technology groups like Apple, Google and Amazon if they do not change quickly.