Apple Car Production Again Linked to Kia Motor's US Plant in Georgia

Hyundai intends to transition the company's Apple Car involvement to its Kia brand as part of an internal arrangement that could see production move to the U.S., according to a new report today.

Apple and Hyundai feature
On Sunday, Korea IT News reported that Apple and Hyundai are seeking a partnership agreement for the upcoming Apple Car by March, and that the electric vehicles could be made at a Georgia factory owned by Kia Motors, a Hyundai Motor Group affiliate.

First spotted by iMore, Korea's eDaily today added its own take on reports that Hyundai plans to hand off the project to Kia, which could see manufacturing take place at its Georgia plant. The following is a machine translation:

It is known that the Hyundai Motor Group, which received a proposal from Apple for electric vehicle-related cooperation, has internally arranged that Kia Motors is in charge of this project. If Kia decides to do this, the Apple car production base will be at Kia's Georgia plant in the US.

The report claims that discussions took place on Tuesday between Kia and its parent company about "Apple Car cooperation," and that following confirmation of the plan, the project could be carried out at Kia's West Point plant, which would "facilitate cooperation with Apple."

It goes on to say that despite reports that Hyundai is in pole position for Apple Car manufacturing, the Korean company has decided that it is "not suitable" for the Apple Car business because of its "strong will" to continue the Hyundai brand. In addition, it does not intend to become an "OEM factory" for Apple cars. The report concludes by stating that Hyundai "is still cautious" and that the move has not yet been decided.

Rumors that Apple is in negotiations with Hyundai first surfaced last week‌, suggesting that Apple is planning to work with the automaker to produce electric vehicles and develop batteries due to the high costs of the technology and the necessary production facilities.

Hyundai initially confirmed its electric vehicle discussions with Apple in a statement to CNBC, but the statement was revised hours later with no mention of Apple.

Reuters last month reported that ‌Apple Car‌ production may begin around 2024. However, a report from Bloomberg last week said that the ‌Apple Car‌ is "nowhere near production stage" and could be ready in around five to seven years.

Tag: Hyundai

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

moabal Avatar
58 months ago
Korean Car hate comments incoming....

In all seriousness. Kia/Hyundai/Genesis makes great cars now. If this is true, this would be great for both them and Apple. I like the idea of it potentially being built (at least somewhat) in the US!

Seriously though, go to your local Kia dealership and test out a Kia Stinger with the 3.3L V6. Your mind will be blown!
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wbeasley Avatar
58 months ago
next week, Samsung announce plans to have Hyundai build Galaxy electric cars.
after scoffing at Apple for doing so.

Samsung will rush a folding car to market... but it will have hinge issues from road dust they didnt have in test labs and a few battery fires due to super fast charger... each car will have a plastic laminated windscreen and only after a few people peel them off will it be revealed the coating was meant to stay in place. and you'll get free in ear noise cancelling pods which will no doubt add to driver inattention.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
58 months ago

The problem with Hyundai/Kia is the price is a few thousand away from a Toyota, which won't break down all the time.
You're about 6 years behind the times (and even then are exaggerating unless you're talking about 15 - 20 year old cars). I'm not knocking Toyota (I own a Toyota and a Kia) but Kia and Hyundai have made huge improvements in reliability and quality over the past 10 years and certainly give Toyota a run for the money.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
58 months ago
If true, this would be very good for Georgia.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
58 months ago
I last test drove a Kia SUV in 2015, but I hope Apple improves their quality. (Maybe they've done so by now.). The SUV didn't compare to a Lexus, let alone Mercedes, or even the Ford Explorer.

I'd definitely give it a try though.


Edit:

Since some people missed the point below - the rumor seems untrue anyway, but:

The point is that Apple is NOT a Kia class product. Kia is down market, known for their unreliability, poor build quality, and low price. Apple is the opposite (except sometimes unreliable until the x.x.1 version). Would I give an Apple/Kia car a test drive? Yes, because of the build quality of most of the Apple products from Macs to iPhones to iPads. One would hope that if this is true, Apple would require a Lexus/Mercedes/Porsche build quality from Kia before being affiliated with it.

Would I buy one that had a rattling doors and would rust in 2 years? No. Having an Apple Car with the build quality from Kia 6 years ago would tarnish the Apple brand and be a disaster. Doing otherwise would be like Apple going to Fero to build iPhone MTN Fero A4001 to run iOS on a $30 phone with a 1MP camera and plastic exterior that could survive a 1 inch drop but no more with Face ID taking 15 seconds to scan.

It should be noted that from what others in the thread have said, Kia has improved, which would be great. The more competition the better. I hope they have great build quality. I don't care about the brand, I care about it being reliable and safe.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobmans Avatar
58 months ago


It goes on to say that despite reports that Hyundai is in pole position for Apple Car manufacturing, the Korean company has decided that it is "not suitable" for the Apple Car business because of its "strong will" to continue the Hyundai brand. In addition, it does not intend to become an "OEM factory" for Apple cars. The report concludes by stating that Hyundai "is still cautious" and that the move has not yet been decided.
If anyone's going to be cautious I bet it will be Apple and not Hyundai/Kia. I don't think any car company in the world would say "no" to a car partnership with Apple, but I'm sure Apple won't go through with a possible partnership if there's even one thing that's not going according to their will. Apple knows car manufactureres/companies are basically lined up and that they have the upper hand here on how a possible partnership would go.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)