Hyundai Motor's Autonomous Driving Joint Venture 'Motional' to Operate Robotaxi in the US in 2023

Hyundai Motor Vehicle-Based Fully Autonomous Robotaxi Service

Motional-Lyft

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Motional, the autonomous driving joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, will launch a robotaxi service operating without drivers in the United States in 2023. This is the first time Motional has specifically announced the commercialization timeline for a fully unmanned robotaxi service based on Hyundai vehicles.

On the 16th (local time), Motional announced that it will start robotaxi services in major U.S. cities in 2023 in collaboration with the American ride-hailing company Lyft. The robotaxi will be built on Hyundai’s automotive platform, integrating sensors, computers, and software to enable remote vehicle support. The plan is to operate this by adding it to Lyft’s ride-sharing service network. Details regarding service launch areas and scale will be specified later.

Karl Iagnemma, CEO of Motional, stated, “Our company is at the forefront of mobility innovation, having realized robotaxis that were once in the research phase onto public roads,” and added, “Beyond creating autonomous vehicles that are safe, reliable, and accessible, we are collaborating with Lyft with the goal of providing these services at a significant scale.”

Motional (Photo by Hyundai Motor Group)

Motional is a joint venture established in March by Hyundai Motor Group and U.S. Aptiv with an investment of $2 billion (approximately 2.2 trillion KRW), the largest ever. It currently serves as the core of Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving technology development and leads related collaborations with global companies. In August, Motional announced its corporate name and declared that it would introduce a Level 4 autonomous driving system (based on SAE standards by the Society of Automotive Engineers) capable of driving without driver intervention by 2022.

Earlier in October, Motional agreed with the U.S. ride-sharing service provider Via to launch a robotaxi service connected to autonomous vehicles in the U.S. in the first half of next year, but Hyundai vehicle models were not introduced. Furthermore, since Motional is pushing to develop Level 4 autonomous driving technology by 2022, it is expected that the robotaxi service launched in collaboration with Lyft in 2023 will be equipped with similar-level technology.

The deepening partnership with Lyft, the second-largest ride-sharing market player in the U.S., is also noteworthy. The two companies have continued their collaboration since Aptiv conducted an autonomous driving test program using Lyft’s network during the 2018 CES. This program has continued to date, with over 100,000 actual service rides completed. Accordingly, in 2023, Hyundai’s autonomous vehicles will be fully integrated into Lyft’s ride-sharing network, and both parties are expected to build an even closer partnership in the autonomous driving sector.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.