Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and U.S. self-driving technology company Aptiv, will begin full-scale operation of the Ioniq 5 robotaxi at Level 4 (fully self-driving) in Las Vegas at the end of this year. Attention is on whether this will dispel the view that Hyundai Motor Group is a latecomer in Autonomous Driving. Hyundai Motor Group also revealed plans to integrate Motional's Level 4 technology with driver assistance-based driving technologies from Hyundai Motor Group such as 42dot's Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).
◇Motional: "Safety and expense efficiency are our strengths"
Motional CEO Laura Major held a press briefing at the Technical Center in Las Vegas on the 8th (local time) and said, "By the end of 2026, we will fully commercialize an unmanned Autonomous Driving service at SAE Level 4 in Las Vegas for the general public."
Motional chose Las Vegas as the commercialization site because robotaxi ride-hailing demand is the highest in the world and the tourism industry generates heavy travel demand. It will first begin a pilot operation of the Ioniq 5 robotaxi early this year. After checking user safety and vehicle driving quality through the end of the year, it will start commercial service.
During the pilot period, a driver will be on board. The driver will sit in the driver's seat to monitor self-driving performance and ensure safety. Unlike Tesla's robotaxi, Motional rides can be hailed through the Uber car-sharing app. Since last year, Motional has been running the hailing service for its own employees.
Major emphasized safety most at the press briefing. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun also said on the 5th of last month, "We (Hyundai Motor) are a bit late," adding, "What matters more is safety." Motional developed the Ioniq 5 robotaxi system based on the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and obtained certification.
Motional said it will shift to an end-to-end (E2E) self-driving system. Having maintained a rule-based self-driving design that handles tasks based on preset rules, Motional will move to E2E-based self-driving in which AI processes everything from perception to decision-making at once. It plans to advance machine learning models specialized by function and integrate them into a large-scale driving model (LDM) based on E2E.
To that end, Motional is enhancing performance to handle unpredictable road and traffic conditions by using the vast driving data and training techniques it has gathered. Motional aims for Autonomous Driving that can operate reliably across cities worldwide and in complex traffic. A Motional official said, "We are simplifying the self-driving software design to speed up updates and advancing it in a direction that expands service."
◇"Group's self-driving technologies will ultimately be integrated"
Hyundai Motor Group has set a strategy to advance Autonomous Driving technology based on the Ioniq 5 robotaxi. The main direction is to expand technical collaboration among Hyundai Motor–Kia's Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) division, 42dot, and Motional. Yoo Ji-han, head of Hyundai Motor–Kia's autonomous driving center (executive director), said, "We are reviewing data sharing and more to leverage the strengths of both technologies," adding, "They will be integrated in a complementary way."
Because Motional's Level 4 Autonomous Driving was developed for robotaxis, it focuses on replacing the driver. Accordingly, even as it shifts to E2E, minimum safety measures, such as responses to special situations on the road, will be developed on a rule-based foundation.
42dot's Atria AI is being developed around Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to support driving convenience. It is interpreted as a plan to transition to software-defined vehicles (SDV) by leveraging the strengths of Level 4 Autonomous Driving and Atria AI.
Kim Heung-su, head of Hyundai Motor–Kia's Global Strategy (GSO) division (vice president), said, "The AVP division and 42dot are developing around ADAS, while Motional is responsible for robotaxi technology at Level 4 and above," adding, "By combining each division, we will ultimately secure vehicle appeal and competitiveness."
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group also mentioned the possibility of launching the Ioniq 5 robotaxi in Korea. Kim said, "Motional's top priority is commercialization planned for the end of this year," adding, "After executing that first, we are, of course, keeping the possibility open and reviewing a domestic service launch for technology accumulation and competitiveness, as well as in other regions."