Self-driving technology is becoming increasingly popular, and Hyundai is investing heavily in this field through its partnership with Motional, an autonomous driving startup. The South Korean automaker aims to develop advanced autonomous driving technology and internalize core technology in this area. Motional was established in March 2020 by Hyundai and Aptiv, an Irish-American automotive technology company.
Hyundai has recently announced that it will invest nearly $1 billion in Motional. This includes $487,889,235 for a capital increase and an additional $456,246,344 to acquire 11% of Aptiv’s shares in Motional. Following this investment, Hyundai will have a total share of 66.8% in Motional. The additional funding will enhance Motional’s technological competitiveness and lay the groundwork for expanding synergy between autonomous driving units within Hyundai Motor Group.
Despite facing significant operating losses over the past three years, Motional has shown its self-driving technology through the Hyundai Ioniq 5 robotaxi. The self-driving technology passed a typical United States driver’s license test with the Ioniq 5. Although Aptiv has announced plans to stop allocating capital to Motional and reduce its ownership share in the self-driving startup due to these losses, this decision highlights the potential of autonomous driving technology and how it can revolutionize transportation in the future.
