Fallout at Hyundai, Kia After Apple Car Talks Break Down

Reuters has tabulated just how much damage Hyundai and partner company Kia recently took in the market after it was announced the automakers were no longer planning a deal with Apple to produce a much-buzzed-about Apple car or its components.And it was sizable. In early January, Hyundai had confirmed a report that the company was in talks with Apple over potential plans to develop self-driving cars and/or electric vehicles batteries at U.S. Hyundai or Kia factories. At the time, the news caused Kia shares to jump more than 60 percent and the gains remained because reports continued to suggest that talks were ongoing and a deal imminent.But in a pure example of “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” both Hyundai and Kia took dramatic hits to their market value this week when Hyundai announced to shareholders that they were, in fact, not in talks with Apple on autonomous vehicle development. The fallout from the surprise shift sent Hyundai’s shares tumbling 6.2 percent and Kia’s 15 percent. All told, the loss of market value between the two companies combined was a reported $8.5 billion.