Keen to develop self-driving cars, Hyundai Motor Group unveils $35 bln investment plan

Record ID: 1436893

  • Title: Keen to develop self-driving cars, Hyundai Motor Group unveils $35 bln investment plan
  • Date: 15th October 2019
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (OCTOBER 15, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SOUTH KOREA'S MINISTER OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY, SUNG YUN-MO, WALKING TO PODIUM FOR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREA'S MINISTER OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY, SUNG YUN-MO, SAYING: "We will actively transition from combustion-engine cars to cars of the future by preparing a regulatory and legal framework." SUNG SPEAKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE SUNG BOWING AND LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2019 10:03
  • Keywords: South Korea Hyundai self-driving car investment president Moon Jae-in
  • Location: HWASEONG, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • City: HWASEONG, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Reuters ID: LVA002B17HH6V
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to invest 41 trillion won ($35 billion) in mobility technology and other areas by 2025, part of an ambitious effort to become more competitive in self-driving cars that has also received government backing.
    The plan, which Hyundai said encompasses autonomous, connected and electric vehicles, comes after the automaker and two of its affiliates announced an investment of $1.6 billion in a venture with U.S. self-driving tech firm Aptiv.
    South Korea's government is also onboard, unveiling more funding for autonomous vehicle technology with President Moon Jae-in declaring on Tuesday (October 15) that he expected self-driving cars to account for half of new cars on the country's roads by 2030.
    The government intends to spend 1.7 trillion won between 2021 and 2027 on self-drving technology. It expects Hyundai to launch level 4, or fully autonomous, cars for fleet customers in 2024 and for the general public by 2027, an industry ministry official told Reuters. But some experts question whether targets set by the government and the automotive group, which also includes Kia Motors Corp, are realistic, given the technological and cost challenges of developing self-driving cars and the lack of homegrown technology.
    (Production: Daewoung Kim, Heejung Jung)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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