Apple takes a bite of Musk’s market! Tech giant ‘invests $3.6 BILLION in carmaker Kia to start building its own electric vehicles by 2024 in bid to rival Tesla’
- Kia will reportedly sign a $3.59 billion deal with Apple to build electric vehicles
- Shares in the South Korean car company jumped by as much as 14.5%
- The tech giant is planning to make the cars at Kia’s facility in Georgia with the hope of introducing them to market in 2024, newspaper The Dong-a Ilbo reports
- Neither Apple or Kia has commented but a contract could be signed this month
- The move would mean a challenge to electric vehicle market leader Tesla
Apple is preparing to invest $3.6 billion in Kia Motors to start building its own electric cars, according to reports.
Shares in the South Korean car company jumped by as much as 14.5% following the news first reported by Korean newspaper The Dong-a Ilbo. They closed up 9.7% in Seoul on Wednesday, CNN reports.
The tech giant is said to be planning to make the cars at Kia’s facility in Georgia with the hope of introducing them to market in 2024.
Neither Apple or Kia has commented on the claims but a contract could be signed as early as February 17, according to local media.
The move would mean a challenge to electric vehicle market leader Tesla which delivered just under half a million units in 2020.
Apple is preparing to invest $3.6 billion in Kia Motors to start building electric cars, reports say
Apple is said to have an initial target of 100,000 cars a year, Bloomberg reports. The full annual capacity of the proposed plant would be 400,000 vehicles.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the car will have 300 miles of range on a full charge; it will also be able to go from 0-60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds, he says, with a top speed of 160 mph.
Tesla’s Model S Long Range Plus vehicles have a range of 402 miles.
Shares in the South Korean car company jumped by as much as 14.5% following the news first reported by Korean newspaper The Dong-a Ilbo . They closed up 9.7% in Seoul on Wednesday
Apple is said to have an initial target of 100,000 cars a year, Bloomberg reports. The full annual capacity of the proposed plant would be 400,000 vehicles. Apple CEO Tim Cook is pictured
Kia shares surged nearly 20% on January 20 after a media report said its parent Hyundai Motor Group had decided Kia would be in charge of proposed cooperation with Apple on electric cars.
Hyundai said last month it was in preliminary talks with Apple, but gave no details. Local media said the firms were discussing an electric car and battery tie-up.
Apple has long been rumored to be working on a passenger vehicle, and reports in 2020 suggested this would include new ‘breakthrough battery technology’.
Apple is known for its secretiveness when it comes to new products and partnerships. The tech firm declined to comment on the reports.
Hyundai and Apple already work together on CarPlay, Apple’s software for connecting iPhones to vehicles from a variety of automakers.
Shares in Hyundai Motor were up 1.7%, while affiliates Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd and Hyundai Glovis Co Ltd rose 3.3% and 6.7% respectively as of 0319 GMT, outperforming the 0.1% gain in South Korea’s broader stock market KOSPI.
Kia shares surged nearly 20% on January 20 after a media report said its parent Hyundai Motor Group had decided Kia would be in charge of proposed cooperation with Apple on electric cars. The Hyundai E-GMP electric car platform is pictured