On Monday, Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s greatest automotive firm, stated how it intends to establish an autonomous driving joint project with Aptiv, an international technology firm.
The two companies will agree to hold a 50% ownership share in the joint project. In a statement, Hyundai reported how the venture is valued at a total of $4 billion in aggregate value.
The Hyundai Motor Group, whose affiliates are Kia Motors, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Motor will provide a combined 1.6 billion dollars in cash through its subbrands, vehicle engineering, R&D and access to its IP, all of which are worth $400 million.
On the other hand, Aptiv will be delivering its autonomous driving tech (which has been in development for many years), its IP, and nearly 700 workers working on AV tech.
Kevin Clark, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Aptiv, said: “This partnership further strengthens Apriv’s industry-leading capabilities in the development of advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle connectivity solutions, and smart vehicle architecture.”
The executive vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, Chung Euisun, stated that the new joint venture will mark the beginning of their journey with Aptiv which aims towards their mutual goal of commercializing autonomous driving. He added how the capabilities of Aptiv, in addition to their group, will make unparalleled synergy to head the driverless driving landscape.
Testing for their fully driverless systems will begin in 2020 in pursuit of the 2022 commercialization target, which hopes for the availability of fleet operators, automotive, etc.
According to Hyundai, the goal of the joint project will be to develop Level 4 and Level 5 production-ready self-driving technology intended for commercialization. The company first tested its autonomous vehicles on operational roads in the year 2015, in the U.S.