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Summary
- Reports claims that Kia Motors Corp is heading for a billion-dollar collaboration deal with Apple Inc to produce electric vehicles.
- Kia Motors’ stocks are up nearly 10 per cent at KRW 97,700 (C$ 111.97) in the wake of the news.
- The deal, as per reports, is said to be worth about KRW 4 trillion (C$ 4.5 billion).
Stocks of Kia Motors Corp (KIMTF:US, KRX: 000270) took off on Tuesday, February 2, following reports of a billion-dollar collaboration deal with Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL, AAPL:US) to produce electric vehicles. The deal, as per reports, is said to be worth about KRW 4 trillion (C$ 4.5 billion).
Kia Motors’ stocks are up nearly 10 per cent at KRW 97,700 (C$ 111.97) in the wake of the news.
Let’s take a closer look at this potential deal between these two companies.
Apple-Kia Motors EV Deal On The Horizon?
A local Korean media outlet has reported that Apple Inc is planning to co-produce its electric vehicles with Kia Motors at the carmaker’s manufacturing plant in Georgia, US. The Silicon Valley tech giant is said to be on scheduled to sign the papers on February 17, with a goal of producing some 100,000 EVs a year 2024 onwards.
While the media reports have stirred quite a buzz among EV enthusiasts and investors, neither of the two companies have made any official confirmations yet.
Back in December, Apple made headlines on the back of reports that the tech juggernaut is planning to venture into the EV industry, a dream it has been seeing for years. Reports had it that Apple is planning to launch a driverless passenger car by 2024, along with inhouse battery technology.
©Kalkine Group 2021
Apple first toyed with the idea of launching its very own EV, reportedly dubbed as iCar, way back in 2014. The initiative was named Project Titan. Although the company is said to have dropped the idea at some point, it now looks like the iPhone maker is back at it with much gusto.
Before the latest speculation around Kia Motors, there were reports about Apple inking a partnership with automaker Hyundai Motor earlier in January. Just like this time around, Hyundai stocks too soared following this news, up by about 20 per cent on January 8.
Incidentally, Hyundai owns a 34 per cent stake in Kia Motors.
While Apple has refused to comment on either accounts, rumors around an upcoming electric vehicle from the smartphone maker are gaining momentum. And if they turn out to be true, Tesla Inc may be looking at a titan of a rival in the future.
