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Why not? They might be the only one willing to do what Apple demands? They have issue with their engines, but cars are well made. I owned one. Who heard of Foxcon before the iPhones?
Well made? We have a Hyundai and a Mazda. The Hyundai is cheap and cheerful and doesn't ride well at all when compared.
 


Apple and Hyundai will reach a partnership agreement for the upcoming Apple Car by March, according to a new report shared by Reuters, citing Korea IT News.

Apple-and-Hyundai-feature.jpg

Before being revised, the Korea IT News report said that the companies may either manufacture the electric vehicles at a Georgia factory owned by Kia Motors, a Hyundai Motor Group affiliate, or invest in a new facility in the United States that could produce up to 400,000 vehicles annually. The report also mentioned that a "beta version" of the Apple Car could be released in 2022.

Reuters last month reported that Apple Car production may begin around 2024, and that time frame was again echoed in today's report. A 2024 start of production may be a bit ambitious, as a report from Bloomberg last week said that the Apple Car is "nowhere near production stage" and could be ready in around five to seven years.

Rumors that Apple is in negotiations with Hyundai first surfaced last week‌, suggesting that Apple is planning to work with the automaker to produce electric vehicles and develop batteries due to the high costs of the technology and the necessary production facilities.

Hyundai initially confirmed its electric vehicle discussions with Apple in a statement to CNBC, but the statement was revised hours later with no mention of Apple.



Article Link: Apple and Hyundai to Sign Apple Car Deal by March With Production Beginning in 2024
Love all the negativity. Makes me think this will be a huge success, like the Watch and Apple TV.
 
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Hyundai of 2021 is not the same company as it once was.
They started in cheap car segment during 1970s and then over last 10 years slowly repositioned themselves.
They are also investing heavily into electrification.
 
This thread and the other one discussing Apple and Hyundai working together is proof that a lot of folks buy Apple products just for the shiny cool factor even though when this topic comes up everyone says that nobody does that. The only thing making this move controversial for some is that Hyundai is not seen as a cool brand.

If it's built according to the Apple specs and build quality requirements, what's the problem? Car manufacturers work together all the time. Depending where you live in the world, a fancy Mercedes can come with a Renault engine and the overwhelming majority of people don't know that.
Renault motor are pretty decent anyway
 
Some of you can’t be serious. You think Apple’s car will look like a Hyundai? Since when does the design of Apple products get decided by the factory they’re built in?

You don’t think Apple can use Hyundai’s factories while still importing parts from other places?

Think for a second Lol.... Jeez.

It might unless Hyundai/Apple decide to pay upfront to change/rebuild the factory where said Cars could theoretically be built. There's a reason why vehicle factories can only build certain models of cars/trucks and not all of the above. So unless Apple decides to pay up front to build factories that will build the rumored "Apple Car" they would be stuck adapting existing models. Nor would Hyundai, if they were smart, provide sole financial support by expanding or building new factories all themselves.
 
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Hyundai - really ?
It's a good choice... they have the Genesis lux. line... they're very good at volume quality manufacturing (and as a great value point). They're not arrogant and will work well with Apple in the lead... and don't mind being behind the scenes brand-wise (especially as nobody know who the heck Genesis is)

I was thinking Honda could be another nice partner, but they have more brand recognition and Acura.

I'm really interested to see what sort of disruption Apple could bring to the auto space... just a lux Apple car won't be enough to move the needle... I'm assuming they've nailed a number of pain points (e.g. range). I'd have more excitement if this was still the Jobs era... Cook's idea of disruption is moving his hair parting a few mm.
 
It all depends on what they ultimately produce; and tio what specificatons. I have no doubt Hyundai can build to a price point.


How so? Their watches aren't made by Patek or at least Rolex or Omega.
Hermès Apple Watch????? I wound never buy a Korean car. Euro or US. Apple should have bough Tesla when they have a chance. If they do go with Hyundai the will lose many followers, like me.
 
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I'm aware that Porsche and Audi are part of the VW group. My point is that these brands have a reputation that Hyundai does not have.
Except that in many countries hyundai has a very good reputation. And they make very good quality cars - better than my Porsche Boxster, for example, which had many reliability problems, including an engine block that cracked after 30,000 miles. And hyundai has subsidiaries that already make components and provide other services to other car makers. People just don’t know that their cars are partially made or designed by hyundai. And when people buy apple cars, it won’t matter to them what factory they come out of.
 
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Why not? They might be the only one willing to do what Apple demands? They have issue with their engines, but cars are well made. I owned one. Who heard of Foxcon before the iPhones?
Totally agree anything could happen in this particular arena
 
Hermès Apple Watch?????
Hermes made a band for the watch and cobranded it; and Hermès is hardly a high end watch maker. I doubt Apple will cobrand the car, even if the have an interior that is an Hermès edition.
I wound never buy a Korean car. Euro or US. Apple should have bough Tesla when they have a chance.
Apple does not need to own a manufacturer, in fact it's probably a bad idea given the capital costs and lower margins. They need a manufacturing partner, which minimizes the risk to them and allows them to exit the car market if it fails to catch on. Had they bought Tesla, if it tanks they have to take a huge write-off and have a fire sale.

It's far better to spend a few hundred million on design and let Hyundai build the car than much more on buying Tesla. Plus with Tesla they'd wind up with Musk, who no doubt would not take a back seat to Cook and cause issues over who runs the show.
If they do go with Hyundai the will lose many followers, like me.

I doubt most purchasers of Apple's mainstream products will care if they make a car, let alone about who makes it. They care about the products they use, the rest are just pretty ornaments on Apple Store shelves.
 
Well made? We have a Hyundai and a Mazda. The Hyundai is cheap and cheerful and doesn't ride well at all when compared.
but don’t you understand that apple, not hyundai, will be designing the car, and Hyundai will just be putting it together?

just like right now there are contract manufacturers that churn out cheap econoboxes and Porsche boxsters.
 
but don’t you understand that apple, not hyundai, will be designing the car, and Hyundai will just be putting it together?

just like right now there are contract manufacturers that churn out cheap econoboxes and Porsche boxsters.
Actually, the final assembly of Tiaguns and the Porsche 718 is done at the Osnabrück; all of which is owned by VW, and thiis not a contract manufacturer; the 718 is kind of fitting as the 914 was also involved Osnabrück when it wa sownbed by Karmann.
 
Here we go again... everyone, and I mean the media, needs to put something in... nothing has been signed so who knows what is really going to happen
The mere fact that Apple is having any form of talks for collaboration with big car manufacturer is news in itself.
 
I doubt they would ditch the Hyundai brand; if only becasue they would not sell enough Apple cars to make up for the lost volume. Having Hyundai/KIA/Genesis lets them target different market segments, the Apple car would add one more.
“they” don’t have Kia.
Kia is a completely different company.
 
Best as I can tell, FCA has owned 0% of Ferrari since 2016.
Per Ferrari of Lake Forest, Illinois website:

"After restructuring to establish Ferrari N.V. as the holding company of the Ferrari Group, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sold 10% of their shares and distributed their remaining 80% of shares among FCA shareholders. 10% of Ferrari was and continues to be owned by Piero Ferrari (son of Enzo). Currently, Ferrari is primarily owned by the public:

  • 67.09% Public
  • 22.91% Exor N.V. (Owners of FCA)
  • 10.00% Piero Ferrari"
 
Apple stopped being solely a computer company the day that Steve Jobs announced that Apple is changing its name to Apple Inc. from Apple Computer Inc. Apple is full-on consumer technology company. I for one would love to see them enter this space. Apple is exciting when it takes bold risks as opposed to playing it safe.

Steve Jobs was a man obsessed with style and details, you have no idea why he changed the name. It could've been purely for marketing/style purposes.

He also implemented strategies based on focus and prioritization, constantly talking about "cleaning up the product line".

I never said Apple should play it safe. I said they should stick to computers. Revolutionize that space, which is what people love Apple for, and not try to revolutionize every space (which is an impossible goal that, as approached, will result in the company becoming unfocused).

"Focus is about saying no."
 
I'm aware that Porsche and Audi are part of the VW group. My point is that these brands have a reputation that Hyundai does not have.
VW auto group ?? The scandal ridden emissions automaker who has been ranked as one of the most unreliable brands (which includes Audi, Porsche, etc.) Hyundai/KIA have been fastly overtaking everyone in reliability, quality, value, and TECH.

All these people crying "My Hyundai Accent was a demon!" forget that they bought the cheapest, most bargain basement model they sell. Every car maker has an Accent of some kind that's made on the cheap to help lift market share. Even luxury brands.

I bought a Telluride over an Atlas because well... read rankings and reviews. One has people trading luxury SUV's in for it and the other has had massive reliability and quality issues since it came on the market (VW) with a cheap plastic heavy interior.

I think they're a good choice. They're leaps and bounds ahead with car tech over Honda, Toyota, etc. I'm not a Ford fan, but they're pretty ahead on tech as well. You definitely want a business partner with some chops in executing tech well. My Telluride is full autonomous on the highway (so is the Ford Explorer) and does a great job. It's just not electric.
 
The Apple Watch is an iphone accessory, as is the AirPods.

Come to think of it - a car would certainly make for the ultimate iPhone accessory.
The Apple Watch is not an iPhone accessory. It has its own OS. It is a separate computer that works alongside the iPhone. Why would a car make for the ultimate iPhone accessory? Because you like cars?

The reason why it's a revolutionary computing device is because of how it interfaces with the human body. No computer had ever done that before the Apple Watch.

So far we know that the Apple Car is going to do the exact same thing that Tesla and Zoox and all these other companies are trying to do, and likely further along in doing. To me, it screams of Apple entering a business because they can, and not because they should.
 
The Apple Watch is not an iPhone accessory. It has its own OS. It is a separate computer that works alongside the iPhone. Why would a car make for the ultimate iPhone accessory? Because you like cars?

The reason why it's a revolutionary computing device is because of how it interfaces with the human body. No computer had ever done that before the Apple Watch.

So far we know that the Apple Car is going to do the exact same thing that Tesla and Zoox and all these other companies are trying to do, and likely further along in doing. To me, it screams of Apple entering a business because they can, and not because they should.

The Apple Watch still needs the iPhone to work properly. You could try to use one by itself, but its functionality would be extremely limited.

Think of existing cars and how you enable CarPlay by plugging in a lightning cable. Does that not make cars the ultimate iPhone accessory in terms of support and functionality?
 
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