Hyundai has said it is no longer in talks with Apple about developing electric cars for the tech company.

“We are receiving requests for cooperation in joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from various companies, but they are at early stage and nothing has been decided,” Hyundai said in a statement on Monday. “We are not having talks with Apple on developing autonomous vehicles.”

The news reportedly wiped $3 billion of Hyundai’s market value, with stock sliding 6.2 per cent, said Reuters.

Shares in the company’s affiliate Kia Corp, which had been reported to be the likely partner for the electric car development, saw shares drop by 15 per cent, representing a decline of $5.5 billion, according to the news agency,

Last month the South Korean automaker said it was in early talks with Apple after local media reported an electric car and battery tie-up between the two businesses.

At the time, the news pushed Hyundai shares up by around 25 per cent.

In December last year, it was reported that Apple plans to launch a self-driving passenger car that could include its own battery technology by 2024.

Apple is not the only BigTech company dabbling in autonomous vehicle technology; in December Amazon publicly unveiled its autonomous ride-hailing robotaxi ‘Zoox.’

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