Korean Report Says Kia Partnership With Apple Still Possible

Apple and Hyundai subsidiary Kia signed a memorandum of understanding last year, agreeing to pursue cooperation in eight sectors, including electric vehicles, according to a new report from South Korean news site Chosun Biz, cited by Reuters.

kia featured
Earlier this month, following weeks of rampant "Apple Car" rumors, Hyundai and Kia in regulatory filings said they are not in discussions with Apple to co-operate on development of a self-driving electric vehicle. This came just weeks after Hyundai released a statement indicating that Apple was in talks with a number of automakers, including Hyundai, regarding development of autonomous electric vehicles.

Today's report suggests a partnership may still be possible for Kia, claiming that negotiations with Apple "are not completely canceled," although the talks are said to be "experiencing difficulties." The scope of the negotiations is "wide" with room to grow, according to the report. Apple and Kia could end up partnering on "last mile" transportation with Kia's electric scooters, for example, rather than a full-out vehicle.

In any case, the "Apple Car" is believed to be years away from release, with estimates ranging from 2024 all the way to 2028.

Tag: Kia

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

frozen220 Avatar
61 months ago
Kia has proven itself to be a competitive and reliable car company, especially in the last 5 years. Most People who speak ill of Kia clearly haven’t had one in the last 10 years. They’ve come a looooong way. Reliability and design is now among the top. Take a look at the Telluride, and the new 2021 Sorento. This isn’t your grandmother’s Kia.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moabal Avatar
61 months ago
Man this story just keeps getting more interesting. It’s like a reality tv show.

Which car brand will Apple give the rose to?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
61 months ago
And in other news:
[HEADING=2]Hyundai will recall 82,000 Kona EVs to replace batteries[/HEADING]
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
61 months ago
Hyundai/KIA were given a time out and made to think that Apple could pick someone else because they broke the sacred first rule of Apple Club that you don’t talk about Apple Club.

In the end, Tim Cook will make the best decision for the company and if that’s KIA, then he’ll call them back after they’ve had their time out.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ericwn Avatar
61 months ago
KIA is a joke in the UK.
It has to be as there is no Rover anymore to laugh about.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BigMac? Avatar
61 months ago
Yeah, KIA-Hyundai Corp is a great choice.
another possibility could be working with Magna Corporation (they are building high quality cars for many different carmakers like:

* Jaguar E-Pace, since 2017.
* BMW 5er (G30), since 2017.
* Mercedes-Benz G-Klasse, W463, since 2018.
* Jaguar I-Pace, since 2018.
* BMW Z4 (G29), since 2018.
* Toyota Supra, since 2019.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)