Hyundai and Kia are no longer negotiating with Apple for autonomous cars

South Korean carmaker Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia announced on Monday that they are not negotiating with the American concern Apple about a joint project for the production of autonomous vehicles. In response to this report, their shares fell. The announcement came about a month after Korean television reported that the iPhone manufacturer had approached Hyundai to discuss a potential partnership to develop electric vehicles and batteries for those vehicles. Late last week, there was speculation that they could make cars in the US state of Georgia. However, on Monday, Hyundai and Kia said in reports to regulators that "they are not discussing the development of an autonomous electric vehicle with Apple." Both carmakers added that they had talked about such projects with several companies, but the decision has not yet been made. Hyundai clarified that talks with Apple were in the "early stages". Shares of Kia, described by local media as a likely Apple partner, fell 14.98% in Seoul on Monday and Hyundai shares fell 6.21%. Consumer interest in green vehicles has grown in recent years, with US electric car manufacturer Tesla largely taking the lead in the industry. Apple Titan's project focuses on autonomous control technology, but the group is known to keep information about its projects secret. Hyundai, South Korea's largest carmaker, has already launched fully electric cars, including the Ioniq and Kona Electric models, as it seeks to gain market share in this fast-growing market. However, Apple never admitted to talks with Hyundai, despite several reports claiming they were close to a deal.