Hyundai Motor and KT Running Together Toward 'Future Mobility'

750 Billion KRW Equity Swap
Cooperation to Prepare for the Autonomous Driving Era

A segment from the campaign video announcing the Level 4 autonomous driving technology vision

[Asia Economy reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Yoo Hyun-seok] Hyundai Motor Group and KT have exchanged shares worth 750 billion KRW. This is interpreted as both companies believing they can complement each other in the competition for leadership in developing technologies and platforms necessary for future mobility.

While Hyundai Motor Group previously focused on making mechanical devices, it now emphasizes the importance of developing electronic mobility devices integrated with advanced IT and the software for them. In this process, KT's competitiveness lies in its technology and network capabilities to handle vast amounts of data and efficiently exchange it.

KT, meanwhile, is sharpening its capabilities as a technology company while expanding its digital platform business, making it an optimal partner in a market with fierce global competition. The cooperation between the two companies is attracting industry attention as it indicates the direction of the future mobility market.

According to industry sources on the 8th, Hyundai Motor Group decided to acquire mutual shares through a stock swap method among Hyundai Motor Company (1.0%), Hyundai Mobis (1.5%), and KT (7.7%) to expand and develop their strategic partnership. A Hyundai Motor official said, "In the past, cooperation was difficult because building a partnership based on trust between the two companies was insufficient when only business alliance MOUs were signed without share exchanges," adding, "This time, share exchange transactions were conducted alongside to ensure responsible collaboration."

The primary goal is to cooperate in preparation for the autonomous driving era. To this end, they agreed to jointly develop 6G communication standards optimized for autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles require advanced communication networks capable of smoothly processing data due to increased vehicle connectivity. 6G offers data transmission speeds up to 50 times faster than 5G. The industry expects it to contribute to enhancing the technical stability of various future mobility technologies, including fully autonomous vehicles that require ultra-large data processing in real-time below the second level and future aerial mobility (AAM).

The scope of business alliances will also expand. First, they will use KT’s sites and networks nationwide to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure. KT’s sites are expected to help establish the charging ecosystem early due to their accessibility. They also plan to develop new services. As the leading paid broadcasting subscriber holder in Korea, KT’s high-quality content supply, diverse big data analysis, and integration of vehicle and mobile data are expected to provide optimized customer experiences.

Autonomous Vehicle · Connected Car Image

They will also explore new businesses based on data and software. They plan to consider operating a future technology fund for cooperation in ICT technology development such as big data. Collaboration in the security communication module field, essential for future business expansion, is also planned. Additionally, they will conduct a demonstration operation of autonomous driving shuttles centered around KT’s futuristic new headquarters.

A Hyundai Motor official said, "KT possesses high-quality communication infrastructure, including satellites not available to other telecom companies, and has internalized network operation experts, enabling flexible collaboration with our company," adding, "Since real-time vehicle-to-vehicle communication is crucial for realizing future autonomous driving, we expect to provide a safe autonomous driving system to customers by utilizing KT’s infrastructure."

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