Hyundai walks back on comment linking it with Apple’s car plans

Hyundai initially issued a statement saying it is one of various automakers that Apple has been in early contact with. It revised its statement less than 30 minutes later, removing the reference to other automakers. A few hours after that, it issued another revision that omitted Apple. — Reuters

Hyundai Motor Co backed away from a statement confirming it is in talks with Apple Inc on developing self-driving car that fueled a US$9bil (RM36.38bil) surge in the Korean automaker’s market value on Jan 8, saying instead that it received requests for potential cooperation from a number of companies.

Revising its statement for a second time in a matter of hours, the South Korean carmaker said it has been contacted by potential partners for the development of autonomous electric vehicles, removing any reference to Apple. Shares of Hyundai rose as much 25% and traded near those levels even after the statement revision.