I still think Apple is still looking at other "skateboard" EV platforms to building their car. And that may include Geely's SEA platform and even Volkswagen's MEB platform.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Pauses Electric Car Talks With Hyundai and Kia
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not sure why people are so down on Kia/Hyundai. They build cars to a high standard. The fact that they look cheap and non-aspirational is that they are built to a price. If they decided they wanted to sell 50 grand cars they would be well built and look and feel luxurious.
Look at the iPhone - it is made by Foxconn and branded as Apple. Foxconn also build devices for Acer, Dell and Vizio. None of these are glamorous brands or devices, but they are well built. The car will be exactly the same. The design, parts and spec will be decided by Apple and Hyundai/Kia will just provide the expertise and facilities to assemble the parts reliably.
Look at the iPhone - it is made by Foxconn and branded as Apple. Foxconn also build devices for Acer, Dell and Vizio. None of these are glamorous brands or devices, but they are well built. The car will be exactly the same. The design, parts and spec will be decided by Apple and Hyundai/Kia will just provide the expertise and facilities to assemble the parts reliably.
It was a Bad Idea from the Get Go !
And, the Service Dept part of it would have made it a Deal Breaker for most Apple Car customers !
You simply can't ask customers who paid $70K USD for a car to take it to a Kia dealership for Service !
And, the Service Dept part of it would have made it a Deal Breaker for most Apple Car customers !
You simply can't ask customers who paid $70K USD for a car to take it to a Kia dealership for Service !
it doesn't matter what Apple does here. They will always be behind Tesla
I think the issue many people here have is that they love brands and not the actual product. They like Toyota or whatever, because they think Toyota is higher quality while having no proof.
Apple is objective when they're picking suppliers, and they definitely try to opt for the best suppliers. That Apple concluded that Hyundai/Kia have the highest quality EV platform and build quality must have shocked a ton of people here. They're in the denial stage right now.
Nobody does, but it wouldn't be a Kia at all.
This is about contract manufacturing, Apple would source the parts from its chosen suppliers (who offers parts of the quality/tolerances Apple would want to pay for) and the manufacturer would assemble to Apple's specifications and desired quality level, no matter what manufacturer they end up with.
Considering that the average selling price of a new vehicle in the US is around $41k, Apple could probably charge a bit more.
Kia's wildly popular SUV, Telluride, costs $34k-$46K; Hyundai/Kia's luxury brand Genesis models are all under $80K.
Hyunda's N division has been reportedly working on a EV supercar with Rimac: probably over $80+K.
I guess Apple can use those as baseline to price their lineup.
The underlying technology still belongs to the manufacturer despite any worthless changes Apple makes to the design process. Tesla tried making their own custom parts that diverged from the reference designs from the supplier and the suppliers told them to piss off.
I think you're putting to much weight on Apple's contribution on the component development. Apple still has to make sure their designs conform to the manufacturing process of their suppliers, so it will be a derivative design with mostly similar specs to whatever the supplier is already producing.
The only auto company that will develop truly innovative components and designs will be Tesla, and that's because they do their manufacturing in-house.
I don't know...Teslas did have their fair share of problems, and Apple has their loyal crowd who will buy anything Apple.
People are going to make fun of the Apple car by mistaking it for a KIA. I know I will.
Also a factor: semiconductors are a bottleneck causing a big ripple effect throughout the auto industry. EVs need silicon carbide devices rather than more familiar (and more readily available) silicon. SiC devices can carry high power and current, and 'run cool.' But the global supply of SiC chips is still ramping up.
A car is a car to me I guess. I own a Mercedes at the moment, and I cared "about cars" at first when I was younger, but now, I guess, it's just a thing to get me around to work and back. And before COVID, other places as well. I used to care about cars, and only bought Mercedes, with this one being my fourth one, but now, honestly, I guess I just don't enjoy driving much anymore.
On a lot of days pre-COVID, I would just even park at a park and ride lot and ride the train or the bus into the office. I find myself driving a lot more now, because, I don't trust public transportation at the moment, with COVID being a thing.
As long as the car has CarPlay, or some other way for me to use my Apple device, I am golden I guess. My next car will probably still be another Mercedes, but only because I am used to them, and I am too lazy to learn anything else, in terms of controls, etc. Same reason I use Macs, I have been using the things since the early 90s, and just kept going with what I know more so than caring about the brand, etc. Also, I do enjoy "Apple's Ecosystem"...if their car is going to integrate with my other Apple stuff, and actually do a good job at it, I probably will get the Apple car, Kia or not....but then again, maybe not as long as Mercedes continues to offer CarPlay as an option.
Same. Driving can be fun sometimes, but using it to get to work and then to home is just tiring.
That's where Tesla's robotaxis come in. Robotaxis are going to catapult Tesla into the largest company in the world.
If Tesla pulls of this thing, I just would forgo owning a car entirely. Use the Tesla service to get around, buses and trains can fill in the gaps where they don't serve, and sometimes the other way around. I already know this is kind of where its headed anyway seeing transit agencies invest in "Micro-transit" services, which would be perfect for the Tesla service. For example, in Phoenix, Valley Metro is filling in the gaps with free Waymo rides...fully self driving. The car would wait for you at your bus stop to take you the rest of the way, the bus can stay on time now because routes can be streamlined to just straight up north south, and east west...the self driving car takes you "last mile", because the bus has a GPS system on board, the car doesn't have to come wait, until the bus is very close to your stop.
They have plans to have at least one electric version of each of their models by 2025 now. An electric Camry, etc are coming built off of what they call the "e-TNGA platform"
This is why I think everyone except Tesla is screwed. Robotaxis are going to contract new auto sales market considerably.
I'm also not sure why that person thinks expertise in ICE manufacturing is equivalent to expertise in EV manufacturing. They're completely different things.
Performance, quality, user experience, etc. Apple and everyone else are screwed.
While that's great and all, they've been trying to avoid moving to a full electric vehicle. Funny enough, not even 3 weeks after they discussed the e-TNGA platform, they said electric cars being overhyped. I wouldn't put faith behind them going full bore and making one of the best EVs in the market.