The rumor mill is up and running at full speed again over several reports published on Wednesday, one of which comes from CNBC claims that Apple is close to inking a deal with Hyundai to have sister company Kia build its long-rumored electric vehicle in the same West Point, Georgia facility that currently produces the Telluride SUV.
Bloomberg reports that the deal would also involve a $3.6 billion investment by Apple into Hyundai has also seen the automaker's stock prices surge in its native South Korea. This isn't the first time that we've seen these kinds of rumors, with these kinds of results, though, and Bloomberg is citing South Korean publication DongA Ilbo that itself names no source.
If the rumors are true, it's likely that the Apple car, aka "Project Titan," could make its debut as soon as 2024. Still, because little is known about Apple's progress in developing self-driving vehicle technology, it could be a lot longer than that. DongA Ilbo also claims that the partnership would have a goal of producing 100,000 vehicles in its launch year.
For its part, Hyundai has been hard at work on its E-GMP electric vehicle platform which the company says will underpin as many as 23 new battery electric vehicles by 2025. Whether the Apple car would share this platform is unclear, but Hyundai claims vehicles based on E-GMP would be capable of 310 miles of range on the WLTP cycle and would employ fast-charging tech that would allow the recovery of 80% of its range in just 18 minutes.
Apple didn't immediately respond to Roadshow's request for comment, while Kia declined to comment.
