Hyundai Motor and Apple Inc are in talks for an agreement to jointly produce autonomous electric cars by March and start production around 2024 in the United States, according to a report in a South Korean newspaper. local newspaper Korea IT News reported on Sunday.

Hyundai Motor had issued a statement on Friday saying it was in early talks with Apple after another report in the South Korean media said the companies aimed to launch a self-driving electric car in 2027. Hyundai Motor also said that it has received requests for potential cooperation from various companies on developing autonomous EVs.

Apple is reported to be moving ahead with autonomous car technology and aimed to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology as early as 2024. Hyundai, the world's fifth largest carmaker, has already been pushing into new technologies such as electric, driverless and flying cars. Last month, it took a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics in a deal that valued the mobile robot firm at $1.1bn.

The company is also setting up a $4bn autonomous-driving joint venture with auto parts supplier Aptiv. The electric vehicle (EV) market is becoming increasingly competitive, with companies such as Tesla spearheading this segment with its rapidly-increasing valuation. This has pitch-forked Tesla chief executive Elon Musk as the richest man on the planet, toppling Amazon founder Jeff Bezos from this slot.

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