The Apple logo at an event at the company's headquarters in Cupertino. Stephen Lam/Reuters In the last few years, Apple filed a series of vehicle-related patents. Hyundai and Apple are close to signing a deal to build a "beta" vehicle by next year, according to Reuters. Here are six recent Apple patents for vehicle features. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In last few years, rumors of an Apple car have often popped up, usually after the company filed a vehicle-related patent.In 2017, for example, an Apple patent gave the first hint Apple would make self-driving vehicles.