Executives at Hyundai are reportedly "agonizing" over whether the company should manufacture the rumored Apple Car due to a potential culture clash and other reasons.

One of the concerns is that Apple is very demanding to work with. In reality, both firms are known for their reluctance to work with outsiders. And just like Apple, Hyundai is a vertically integrated company that makes engines, transmissions, and even its own steel in-house.

Hyundai’s Dilemma: Build Apple Car or Not?

Reuters provides interesting quotes from several sources, with one unnamed executive expressing concerns about Hyundai becoming a contract manufacturer for Apple.

We are agonizing over how to do it, whether it is good to do it or not. We are not a company which manufactures cars for others. It is not like working with Apple would always produce great results.

Another person said:

It is really difficult for us to open up. It is not like working with Apple would always produce great results. Apple is the boss. They do their marketing, they do their products, they do their brand. Hyundai is also the boss. That does not really work.

In that case, Hyundai would prefer its subsidiary Kia to work with Apple.

The Hyundai Motor Co Group is concerned that the Hyundai brand would become just Apple’s contract manufacturer, which would not help Hyundai in its effort to build a more premium image with its Genesis brand.

Another source says Hyundai or Kia would perform final assembly in the US, with Apple sourcing major components for the vehicle from suppliers, based on in-house designs.

A Potential Culture Clash

Apple has been leveraging a similar strategy to build gadgets, with much success. Yet another executive isn't convinced an Apple deal would necessarily be mutually beneficial.

Technology companies like Google and Apple want us to be like (contract smartphone maker) Foxconn. A cooperation may initially help raise the brand image of Hyundai or Kia. But in the mid- or longer-term, we will just provide shells for the cars, and Apple would do the brains.

On the other hand, Hyundai has plenty to offer in terms of production, design, supply, and so forth. For instance, it could offer Apple access to its battery makers and other suppliers.

Go Big or Go Home

As Reuters previously reported, Hyundai has publicly acknowledged holding preliminary talks with Apple about a potential car-building partnership. The revelation must have angered executives in Cupertino because Apple is well-known for its aversion to leaks.

Related: A Quick Guide to Apple CarPlay

The rumored initiative, known internally as "Project Titan," has been in development since 2014. The project has gone through several stages: from designing a self-driving car to making autonomous driving software to building a company shuttle for employees to producing an all-electric vehicle.

The Latest on Project Titan

The latest from the rumor-mill suggests that Apple has finally made its choice---it's probably going to be entering the electric vehicle space after all. Similar to its approach to building consumer electronics, Apple is said to be designing a vehicle under its own roof.

The company could then commission established automobile vendors and contract manufacturers to build the car. And when Apple eventually develops its own manufacturing processes, it would become a vertically integrated car producer, not unlike Tesla.

So, when will the mythical Apple Car hit the road?

Reuters recently said the first Apple Car with "breakthrough battery technology" and increased range would drop in 2024. But if you ask Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the vehicle may not arrive until 2028 or possibly even later. Bloomberg has corroborated Kuo's prediction, saying that the Apple Car won't debut for another five to seven years.

Project Titan is at an early stage of development, Bloomberg said, adding that an Apple-branded vehicle is "nowhere near production stage".

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