Posted February 08, 2021

Technology giant Apple is close to finalizing a deal with Hyundai to manufacture autonomous electric vehicles at Kia’s assembly plant in West Point, according to a media report.

The maker of iPhones would make Apple-branded vehicles of its own design at the Kia factory in Georgia through a contract manufacturing agreement, CNBC reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

State officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations said they were aware of the possibility of an Apple tie-up, but stressed the arrangements had not yet been finalized.

Rick Douglas, a West Point-based spokesman for Kia, declined to comment on Wednesday night. Marie Hodge Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, also did not respond.

Read the rest here