Hyundai, Kia Launch Large-Scale Autonomous Driving Service Tests in Gwangju

Hyundai Motor and Kia are launching a large-scale demonstration project in collaboration with Gwangju Metropolitan City to test and advance Korean-style autonomous driving technology on actual roads. Through this project, approximately 200 autonomous vehicles will operate throughout Gwangju, and the collected real-world driving data will be used to further refine AI-based autonomous driving technology.

Hyundai Motor and Kia will be responsible for producing and supplying about 200 demonstration vehicles, operating services using their proprietary AI-based mobility platform 'Shucle', and demonstrating their self-developed E2E (End-to-End) autonomous driving solution 'Artria AI'. Autonomous driving startups such as Autonomous A2Z and RideFlux will conduct technology demonstrations using vehicles and platforms provided by Hyundai Motor and Kia.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will oversee the project and provide institutional support, while Gwangju Metropolitan City will provide demonstration infrastructure. Gwangju Metropolitan City will supply demonstration infrastructure including company office spaces, garages, and charging facilities. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will be in charge of overall project management, establishing the institutional framework, and providing regulatory support. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority will support operations and verify technical performance.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance will be responsible for developing insurance products and establishing accident response systems, thereby including safety verification and insurance frameworks within the scope of the demonstration.

This demonstration project aims to achieve Level 4 autonomous driving by 2027, using the entire urban living area, not just limited sections, as a testbed. The demonstration will begin in parts of Gwangsan-gu, Buk-gu, and Seo-gu in the second half of this year, and will expand to cover all five districts of Gwangju, including the remaining areas of Nam-gu and Dong-gu, and Seo-gu next year.

As the competitive landscape in the autonomous driving industry shifts from high-precision maps and rule-based algorithms to large-scale driving data and AI learning models, automakers are increasingly required to possess both data acquisition capabilities and in-house software development expertise. The industry views this project as the first large-scale attempt to narrow the 'data gap' in Korea's autonomous driving sector, as competitive edge in autonomous driving technology is directly linked to verification results in various environments, not just algorithms.

The Gwangju demonstration project will serve as a testing ground for Hyundai Motor and Kia to connect their transition to Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) with the advancement of autonomous driving AI. The data accumulated throughout the urban areas will serve as a foundation for improving autonomous driving algorithm performance and designing commercial services in the future. If the Gwangju demonstration proceeds successfully, Hyundai Motor and Kia will simultaneously secure advanced autonomous driving AI capabilities and verify business models that encompass vehicle dispatch, control, insurance, and infrastructure.

Park Min-woo, President of Hyundai Motor and Kia's AVP Division, stated that this demonstration project will be an important milestone in advancing domestic autonomous driving technology in the future. He added that it will provide customers with a high level of autonomous driving experience and lay the groundwork for securing leadership in autonomous driving technology in the mid-to-long term.