The Hyundai Motor Group is betting big on autonomous driving technology as the company is pouring billions into a new joint venture with Aptiv.
The joint venture promises to “advance the design, development and commercialization of SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomous technologies,” and each company will have a 50 percent stake in the venture which is valued at $4 (£3.2 / €3.6) billion.
As part of the agreement, Aptiv will contribute their autonomous driving technology, intellectual property and approximately 700 employees. Hyundai, on the other hand, will be providing the funds as it will turn over $1.6 (£1.3 / €1.4) billion in cash when the deal closes. The automaker will also provide an additional $400 (£322 / €364) million in “vehicle engineering services, R&D resources and access to intellectual property.”
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While the joint venture was just announced, it has big plans for the future as fully autonomous systems will begin testing next year. In 2022, the joint venture aims to have a production-ready autonomous driving platform that will be available to automotive manufacturers, robotaxi providers and fleet operators.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020 and the joint venture will be headquartered in Boston. It will be lead by the president of Aptiv Autonomous Mobility, Karl Iagnemma, and the firm will have technology centers across Asia and United States. Unsurprisingly, South Korea will play an important role as the joint venture will establish a key technology center there as well as a “base for vehicle modification and a testbed for autonomous driving mobility service platforms.”