May 2 (Reuters) - Auto parts supplier Aptiv Plc ( APTV )

on Thursday cut its annual sales forecast and said it would

reduce equity interest in its self-driving joint venture,

Motional, with Hyundai Motor ( HYMTF ).

Under the agreement, Aptiv ( APTV ) will not be required to fund the

joint venture in the future, while Hyundai will provide

additional funding.

The transactions are expected reduce Aptiv's ( APTV ) common equity

interest from 50% as of March 31, 2024 to about 15%.

Motional uses Hyundai's IONIQ5 electric car for its robotaxi

service, which it offers in Las Vegas through Uber ( UBER ) and

Lyft ( LYFT ).

Aptiv's ( APTV ) move follows that of Ford Motor ( F ), Volkswagen

and General Motors ( GM ) as they cut down or back

away from the autonomous technology, often touted as the future

of mobility.

Aptiv ( APTV ) also cut its full-year 2024 net sales forecast to be

between $20.85 billion and $21.45 billion, compared with its

prior projection of $21.3 billion to $21.9 billion.

"We will continue to benefit from both our portfolio of

leading technologies and our relentless focus on cost

optimization to drive outperformance through the back half of

the year," said Aptiv ( APTV ) CEO Kevin Clark.

Aptiv ( APTV ) flagged a slowdown in electrification in North America

and Europe, along with persistent labor and material cost

headwinds impacting operations.

But demand for Aptiv's ( APTV ) modern safety equipment helped soften

the impact, powering a first-quarter profit beat.

On an adjusted basis, it earned $1.16 per share in the

quarter, compared with LSEG estimates of $1.01 per share.

Its quarterly net sales rose about 1.7% to $4.9 billion over

the year earlier.