Hyundai Motor, Kia Test Level 4 Autonomous Trucks on 400km Route

Hyundai Motor and Kia are advancing the autonomous vehicle industry by testing Level 4 autonomous trucks on a 400km route, following similar trials in city buses. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Glovis, Mars Auto, and RideFlux to deploy autonomous trucks on existing logistics routes, aiming to verify the technology's reliability in real-world conditions and gather necessary data for commercialization.

Two vehicles, an XCIENT Fuel Cell hydrogen-powered truck and a conventional XCIENT truck, will participate in the demonstration, with full-scale testing set for the end of 2027. The project will be a collaboration between automakers, software developers, and logistics operators, with the collected data used to improve safety redundancy technology, ensuring backup systems can intervene if primary systems fail.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, aiming to establish the foundation for commercializing Level 4 autonomous driving, also plan to expand their autonomous driving ecosystem, having recently signed an agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to commercialize Level 4 autonomous city buses. The group's second-quarter revenue reached 82.25 trillion won, marking their highest combined quarterly revenue on record.