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The Apple Car hits a bump in the road after Hyundai pulls out

Apple’s goal of building its own automobile seems to have encountered a snag as Hyundai publicly backs out of the project.

After having conquered the world of smartphones, tablets, and laptops,  Apple now has some serious ambitious to enter the autonomous vehicle market. The company is reportedly looking for a deal with an existing car manufacturer, apparently in order to produce its vehicles on a mass scale without the prohibitive initial outlay of building its own construction sites.

It seemed that deal was close to being signed with Hyundai, but the firm released an official statement to dispel rumours, saying: “We are receiving requests for cooperation in joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from various companies, but they are at an early stage and nothing has been decided. We are not having talks with Apple on developing autonomous vehicles.”

The disappointing news had serious consequences immediately; stocks in the company went down by six percent, knocking £2.1 billion off its value, according to AutoExpress

Hype had built around the collaboration because Hyundai had released statements confirming the deal; but these were quickly walked back and two revised versions of the statement were released instead, reports Bloomberg. Notably, Apple has not publicly commented on the deal, holding its cards close to its chest. It is thought that the tech giant is in discussions with at least six manufacturers, so we hope to hear positive news soon.

The car industry is at an exciting time of change, with electric cars becoming more and more common – the Tesla Model 3 even being the UK’s most popular car in December – and autonomous cars also in development at several firms. On top of that, there are even reports on flying cars becoming mass-produced as early as 2023. We’re looking forward to seeing what Apple can bring to the table; if the brand can revolutionise cars in the same way it did for mobile phones, then we’ll be in for a treat.

 

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