Hyundai In Running to Be Apple Car Manufacturer

Hyundai is evidently in talks with Apple to manufacture its upcoming Apple Car.

Apple is well-known for designing blockbuster products but, like many tech companies, it relies on outside companies to manufacture its products. With increasing evidence that Apple is once again moving forward with its Apple Car project, the billion dollar question has been: Who will manufacture it?

It appears Apple is in talks with Hyundai to be its manufacturer, according to Bloomberg. Interestingly, Hyundai has revised its statement at least a couple of times, removing the reference to Apple that was in the initial statement.

“We’ve been receiving requests for potential cooperation from various companies regarding development of autonomous EVs,” the latest statement says. “No decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage.”

Hyundai is apparently getting a crash course in being an Apple partner. The Cupertino company is notorious for maintaining secrecy around its upcoming products. When ATI leaked the existence of the G4 Cube before Steve Jobs could announce it, Jobs famously ordered that ATI’s Radeon cards be pulled from the Cube at the last minute in retribution. In contrast, the automotive industry will often host shows wherein they reveal their upcoming designs that are still several years away.

Hyundai will need to double down on its secrecy if it wants to be Apple’s long-term partner.