By Kwanwoo Jun

LG Electronics Inc.'s shares rallied Friday after a news report that Apple Inc. is accelerating plans for a battery-powered autonomous vehicle within four years.

LG Electronics' gains reflect investor hopes that the South Korean company and its affiliates, which have long supplied parts to Apple, could benefit from the Apple car project.

Shares of LG Electronics jumped by as much as 12% to 137,500 Korean won ($116.23) in morning trade before drifting lower. They were 6.9% higher in late morning trade, outpacing the benchmark Kospi's 0.1% gain.

Bloomberg reported early Friday that Apple plans to launch an electric, self-driving car as soon as 2025. Details remain thin, and Apple hasn't commented on the latest news report.

Apple has never confirmed periodic media reports that it is entering the EV market..

LG Electronics in July launched LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture with Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International in a bid to bolster its electric-vehicle components business.

The Korean company gave no immediate comment on speculation of a partnership with Apple for what some call an iCar project.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 18, 2021 21:15 ET (02:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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