• Declarations.Diess: "The most valuable company will be mobility, it can be Tesla, Apple or Volkswagen"

"Apple and Hyundai are in talks, but in an early phase" read a statement from the second last Friday.

And it made a good mess.

So much so that the Korean had to clarify minutes later without naming the apple flag.

The truth is that, in mid-December, Reuters claimed that

Apple planned to launch its electric car in 2024 and would use its own battery technology.

Although from the beginning doubts arose.

Apple has enough cash flow for the development of its electric and autonomous vehicle;

the problem is the low profitability of vehicle manufacturing.

General brands obtain a return per car between 3% and 6%.

Premiums, like Porsche, reach 15%.

Much less than what Cupertino achieves with each iPhone that Foxconn produces in China.

Chrysler Pacifica operated by Waymo in California

Does an iCar really make sense?

And here is the dilemma.

If Google abandoned the idea of ​​making its own autonomous car, would an Apple iCar make sense?

Hyundai's revelation confirms a business logic:

the apple banner would put its software and autonomous driving system in an electric vehicle that would be assembled by a traditional car manufacturer.

The same thing that Google does through Waymo: it tests its autonomous driving system in Chysler Pacifica vehicles in California, which already carry out pilot trips with people on board without anyone at the wheel.

The profitability and the consequent cost savings causes alliances between technology companies and car brands.

Uber with Volvo or Ford;

Ford, which buys Argo AI and then joins forces with Volkswagen, which becomes a shareholder in Argo;

Renault leaving Microsoft and choosing Google;

or the mergers themselves within the sector, such as that of FCA and PSA, which will become Stellantis from day 16.

Image of Apple's Titan project

Samsung ally, one of its archrivals

Therefore, Apple would resurrect its Titan project for an autonomous car, but as an autonomous driving system incorporated in an electric vehicle made by a third party.

Among the applicants, Hyundai Motor Company is a true global colossus and would have a spicy point given its Korean origin and its alliance with Samsung,

archrival of the Californian brand in telephony and gadgets.

In fact, Hyundai executives have a Samsung as a corporate mobile.

However, the Korean company is involved in the vertical development of electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles and autonomous driving.

In this field, in the last quarter of 2020 it bought Boston Dynamics, an autonomous robot company.

In addition, by 2024 it plans to have flying drones that transport between four and six people autonomously and invested 4,000 million dollars in 2019 with Aptiv to advance the development of autonomous driving.

The three new members of the Hyundai Ioniq family

As for the electric car, it has just launched the Ioniq sub-brand that will bring together all its 100% battery-powered models.

They already have the Ioniq and the Kona.

This year will come the Ioniq 5, a compact based SUV.

In 2022, it will be the turn of the Ioniq 6 saloon. And in early 2024 we will see the Ioniq 7, an SUV the size of the Santa Fe. To these we must add the models of the other brand in the group, the Kia Soul and Niro.

Apple would hurt Tesla

That is to say, Hyundai Motor Company is in all the puddles of new mobility.

And although Tesla could have an advantage in battery production, due to its history, Hyundai has guaranteed its supply thanks to its agreements with Samsung, LG Chem and SK and, in addition, it collaborates with them in the development of second generation batteries.

Likewise,

Apple's

arrival in

the car would hurt Tesla, analysts say.

Regardless of whether its battery is better or worse, the problem is that Apple

is a brand in the style of Musk: it creates a trend, with its faithful co-religionists and is premium.

That is the threat, beyond the wave of 100% electric and increasingly autonomous models that are being launched by traditional brands:

the aforementioned Hyundai and Kia;

the Mercedes-Benz EQC, EQS, EQV or EQA;

BMW iX3 and i4;

Volvo with the electric XC40 and its Polestar brand;

the VW Group with the Volkswagen ID, the Audi e-tron, Porsche Taycan or Cupra el-Born;

or Ford with the Mustang Mach E. Not to mention the Chinese brands, as or more premium.

Beyond the importance of Tesla (it is no longer disruptive, but a reality)

we will see who Apple chooses to make the iCar a reality.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Apple Inc.

  • Motor

  • Motor industry

MotorTesla 'passes' the pandemic and sells 500,000 cars in 2020, 35% more

MotorStellantis, the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world, will be a reality on January 16

New car sales fall back to 2014 level

See links of interest

  • Coronavirus today

  • Child Lottery

  • Rome - Internazionale

  • Levante - Eibar

  • Leganés - Almeria

  • Parma - Lazio

  • Udinese - Napoli