By Gina Lee
Investing.com – South Korea's Kia Motors Corporation (KS:000270) is reviewing cooperation on self-driving electric cars with multiple foreign firms, the automaker said on Wednesday.
Kia shares jumped 5.64% to KRW88,100 ($79.86) by 11:48 PM ET (4:48 AM GMT), after seeing gains of up to 7% earlier in the session.
The company made the comments via a regulatory filing after Tuesday’s reports from uncited sources that parent company Hyundai Motor Group (KS:005380) had decided Kia would oversee a proposed cooperation with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on electric cars. However, the filing did not mention the report.
Hyundai Motor declined to comment, and saw its shares lose up to 2.7% earlier in the session. Apple was also not immediately available for comment.
Hyundai Motor, Kia’s listed sister company, said that it was in early talks with Apple earlier in the month, after local media reported that the two companies were in discussions for a an electric car and battery-tie up. That news sent Hyundai shares up nearly 25%, while Apple declined to comment at the time.
Media reports in December said that Apple was moving forward with self-driving car technology and aiming to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology as early as 2024.