Apple has been planning to offer a car for sale since at least 2014. Reports last month said it could appear on U.S. roads as soon as 2024. Now, reports say, it may be badged a Hyundai.
Well, not precisely. The ultimate product of any collaboration would still be the iCar, or a similar name (the thing’s only official name so far is Project Titan). But it may sit on Hyundai’s upcoming electric car platform – technology that Hyundai says it will use to release 23 electric car models in just the next four years.
Korea Economic Daily reports that the two companies have been negotiating details of a partnership that could see Hyundai helping to design – and build – an Apple-branded car. The negotiations are reportedly at an early stage, and the fact that these have been revealed doesn’t mean that Apple isn’t talking to other automakers about the same role. Or, for that matter, that Hyundai isn’t talking to other tech giants.
The news is of more interest to investors than car shoppers at the moment (it sent Hyundai shares soaring 20 percent in early trading). But it could impact your next car purchase, in that more tech companies moving into the auto market could mean both new competition for your business, and more momentum behind a new model for the car business – one in which car ownership could become a lot more like phone ownership, complete with car features as apps with monthly fees.
