Hyundai, Kia shares fall after confirmation that they are not developing Apple car

Hyundai shares fell by 4.4% while Kia took a bigger hit when its shares tumbled almost 12% on Monday morning.

“Hyundai Motor is not in talks with Apple on autonomous vehicle development,” a statement released by the company said, adding that the organization is getting requests from multiple companies for cooperation in joint development of autonomous, electric vehicles but nothing has been decided since it’s in early stage.

In their statement, Kia Motors also clarified that they are not in talks with Apple on the development of a vehicle.

In January, Hyundai had said in a statement that it was in talks with Apple but later it revised the release, removing all mention of the American company. The statement led to a rally in Hyundai shares and its affiliate companies, including Kia.

In February, American media outlets cited sources within the company that claimed that Apple was close to finalizing a deal with Hyundai for the manufacture of an electric vehicle which may be manufactured at the Kia plant. Media reports also claimed that Apple might finalize the full deal with Hyundai or it may sign a partial deal with other auto manufacturers getting involved in the production along with the South Korean company.