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 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...

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)