Apple Reportedly Putting $3.6 Billion Into Kia For Apple Car Project

Apple plans to invest $3.6 billion in Kia for the manufacture of the partnership’s new electric Apple cars, Fox Business reported Wednesday (Feb. 3).

Apple will take an equity stake in Kia for the deal, and the company will build a manufacturing facility for the autonomous electric car in Georgia, the report says, citing South Korea’s Dong-a Ilbo newspaper.

The facility is expected to begin production in 2024 and make around 100,000 cars per year, with the ability as well to ramp up to 400,000 per year.

An official statement on the deal will be made on Feb. 17, the report said.

The report also added that the Hyundai Glovis shipping division would play a part in the Apple electric car business, which the Fox Business report says means there might be global aspirations for the project.

While both companies have declined to report, numerous reports have linked Apple to both Kia and Hyundai in terms of the projects. The Fox Business report chronicles how, in January, a report surfaced that Hyundai was working with Apple, before that was taken back as Hyundai issued a regulatory filing saying it had received several orders. Then, last week, another report came out that Hyundai had passed the Apple project to Kia, so as to preserve Hyundai’s status as an independent automaker instead of one making products under contracts.

Fox Business reports that Hyundai and Kia are set to roll out a new electric vehicle program later in the year, which will be compatible with several vehicle types and have a range of 300 miles per charge, able to serve as a basis for the Apple car, according to a recent investor note by TF Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo.

PYMNTS reported earlier in the year that the Apple car was aiming for a 2024 debut. Apple’s automotive effort Project Titan has been running in some form or other since 2014.