What you need to know
- At least one analyst thinks Hyundai has learned an important lesson following its Apple Car blunder.
- The company publicly announced it was in talks with Apple on a project, but later walked back the comments.
A new report states that Hyundai has likely learned some lessons following public comments about its involvement with a rumored Apple Car project.
From Bloomberg:
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung -- central to the company's transformation from conventional carmaker to mobility giant promoting flying cars and hydrogen-fuel cells -- had his first, very public, stumble this week. On Monday, after a month of intense speculation around who may team with Apple Inc. to help develop its much-vaunted self-driving electric car, Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. were forced in separate exchange filings to say they weren't in any talks with the tech behemoth, backing away from an earlier Hyundai statement that confirmed they were in discussions.
According to the report, earlier announcements made by Hyundai "no doubt infuriated Apple", and that it is unclear if talks will ever resume between the two.
Joh Tae-bong, head of research at HI Investment & Securities Co. stated that Hyundai "might have learned some lessons through this issue", and that "keeping internal discussions internal is important."
The report describes the incident as "an embarrassment" for the relative novice chairman who took over from his father in October. One analyst noted that losing out on the deal might not be the end of the world for Hyundai, stating that whilst the Apple reports "could have become a catalyst for stock prices" that Hyundai "has been developing its own projects for future mobility" too.
In separate filings this week both Kia and Hyundai stated they were no longer in talks to produce an Apple Car.
