Hyundai: Apple may be in talks with a variety of companies
Hyundai shares surged nearly 25% post the announcement
Motown is abuzz with reports that Apple Inc and Hyundai may be exploring a potential tie-up on developing the former's self-driving electric vehicles. So much so that shares of Hyundai Motor vroomed as much as 25% in Seoul, the most since 1988. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the fiery upmove on the stock has added a neat $2 billion to the combined fortune of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung and his father, Mong-Koo.
"Apple and Hyundai are in discussions but they are at an early stage and nothing has been decided", Hyundai said in a statement without divulging any further details. Meanwhile, Apple issued a regulatory filing saying it was "getting requests for cooperation on joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from various companies," without taking any names. But some reports have gone as far as to claim that Hyundai may have already reviewed Apple's proposal and all that's needed now is for the chairman to put his signature on the dotted line.