Powered by
Subscribe to the only car newsletter you’ll ever need

Hyundai and Apple set to build a prototype electric car by 2022

 

Tech giant Apple and the Hyundai Motor Group are set to ink a deal by March that would see the pair build an electric car equipped with self-driving capability.


An ambitious project to build a fully-autonomous electric car could soon be underway as Hyundai Motor Group announces they are in talks to enter an agreement with Apple.

Apple CEO Tim Cook
Hyundai Motor Group and Apple are said to be joining up to build a fully-autonomous car that will go on sale by 2024. Pictured is Apple CEO Tim Cook

If given the go-ahead in March, local media in South Korea (Korea IT News) say the pair would have a working ‘beta’ version of the final product running by 2022. 

The beta version is projected to progress rapidly with a production version ready by 2024.

Hyundai Motor would build an estimated 100,000 units of the electric car in 2024, which would be constructed in the United States either at Kia Motors’ factory in Georgia or a new factory within the country that the two companies would jointly invest in.

Hyundai E-GMP platform
Apple’s electric car will likely ride on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform

Prior to the latest reports on Friday, Hyundai Motor Group acknowledged that it was in talks with Apple with a goal to create a self-driving electric car by 2027.

It comes after Apple announced last month that it was looking to build its own self-driving electric passenger car by 2024, according to Reuters.

The joint project is said to integrate Apple’s own battery technology that would give the car an extended driving range, and perhaps more importantly, significantly lower the cost of producing the vehicle.

Apple store
The proposed electric car is said to use battery technology developed by Apple itself

The electric car would likely be built on the bespoke EV platform that Hyundai launched late last year known as the E-GMP.

In its announcement, Hyundai said the platform was incredibly flexible with the ability to stretch to accommodate a Hyundai Palisade large SUV or shrink to underpin a small Accent hatchback.

At the launch, Hyundai said the E-GMP was capable of  350kW charging speeds with the battery large enough to provide around 500 kilometres of range depending on the model. 

Hyundai Ioniq 5 2021 side
The Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform will underpin EV models such as the Ioniq 5

However, Hyundai noted that the battery could be modified and developed, which could leave the door open for Apple to integrate its own battery technology.

E-GMP is set to underpin 23 new models across the Hyundai, Genesis and Kia brands that will all be released by 2025.