South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have reportedly denied rumors that they are in discussions with Apple about building an autonomous electric vehicle.
As reported by Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter claimed that the iPhone maker “paused discussions” with Hyundai and Kia about developing an autonomous vehicle, adding that the tech giant has discussed similar plans with other car manufacturers.
Meanwhile, Hyundai and Kia reportedly said in its regulatory filings on Monday that they held discussions with several companies about autonomous electric vehicles but “no decision has been made.”
“We are receiving requests for cooperation in joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from various companies, but they are at early stage and nothing has been decided,” the automakers said according to a report by Reuters. “We are not having talks with Apple on developing autonomous vehicles.”
It’s been widely reported last year that Apple is planning to produce a passenger vehicle with self-driving technology by 2024. Although it remained unclear which automaker would assemble an Apple-branded car.
The company has been working on a self-driving technology known as Project Titan since 2014. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple initially wanted to build its own car but recalibrated those ambitions to prioritize the underlying technology for autonomous driving.