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Bloomberg
Hyundai Motor Group will spend $1.6 billion to develop autonomous vehicles with Aptiv Plc, marking one of the biggest investments yet by a traditional carmaker into the burgeoning robocar industry.
Aptiv will take a 50 percent stake in the venture, while Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis Co and Kia Motors Corp will contribute a combined $1.6 billion in cash and $400 million in areas including research and development, valuing the company at $4 billion, the automaker said in a statement. The venture will begin testing fully driverless systems in 2020 and have a production-ready autonomous driving platform available for robotaxi providers, fleet operators and manufacturers in 2022, the statements said.
Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia aim to commercialise autonomous vehicles in some cities from 2021 and have a goal of launching fully driverless vehicles by 2030.
South Korea’s automakers and global rivals are investing heavily to develop new models and technologies for electrified and autonomous vehicles.
Under the agreement, Hyundai Motor Group will contribute engineering services, research and development resources and access to intellectual property, while Aptiv will provide autonomous driving technology and about 700 employees.
The companies will appoint an equal number of directors in the venture, which will be based in Boston and led by Karl Iagnemma as president.