Hyundai, Kia Say Apple Car Deal Is Off, Puncturing Investor Dream

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co said on Monday it is not now in talks with Apple Inc on autonomous electric cars, just a month after it confirmed early-stage talks with the tech giant, sending the automaker's shares skidding.

Wiping $3 billion off its market value, Hyundai's stock slid 6.2 per cent. Shares in its affiliate Kia Corp, which had been tipped in local media reports as the likely operational partner for Apple, tumbled 15 per cent — a $5.5 billion hit.

The announcement brings the curtain down on weeks of internal divisions at Hyundai Motor — parent to both automakers — about the potential tieup, with some executives raising concerns about becoming a contract manufacturer for the US tech giant in a tieup reminiscent of electronics firm Foxconn's role in making device for Apple like the iPhone.