Image via r.classen / Shutterstock.com
The tech world has been exhilarated with news that Apple is working on a
self-driving car. Now, Hyundai has confirmed that it is in early talks with the company over the Cupertino tech giant’s first foray into the automotive business.
“Apple and Hyundai are in discussion, but as it is at early stage, nothing has been decided,” the automaker revealed in a statement obtained by
Bloomberg News on Friday.
At present, Apple is reportedly looking at launching a LiDAR sensor-equipped autonomous electric vehicle with a
radical battery design that is not only economical, but also wired to boost range. There is a chance, however, that Apple will abandon its plans to build a full-fledged car and instead focus on a self-driving car system.
Lee Han-Joon, an analyst from Seoul’s KTB Investment & Securities Co., detailed that Apple has to work with a car company as “it doesn’t have production capabilities and sales networks to sell its cars,” and partnering with one will help accelerate the design process instead of Apple having to acquire those skills itself.
Sources now estimate that it will take at least half a decade before the car will be ready.
[via
Bloomberg, cover image via
r.classen / Shutterstock.com]