Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv formed an autonomous driving JV for the development of autonomous technologies. Credit: Jesse Collins

Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv have formed an autonomous driving joint venture (JV) for the design, development and commercialisation of autonomous technologies.

The JV will look to develop Level 4 and 5 production-ready self-driving systems.

It hopes to start testing driverless vehicles next year and make them available for robotaxi providers, fleet operators and automakers in 2022.

Under the agreement, Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv will each own a 50% stake in the JV, which is valued at $4bn.

Aptiv will contribute its autonomous driving technology, intellectual property and around 700 employees, who will focus on the development of the technology.

Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis, who are affiliated to Hyundai Motor Group, will contribute $1.6bn at closing and another $400m for vehicle engineering services, research and development (R&D) resources and access to intellectual property.

Aptiv CEO and president Kevin Clark said: “This partnership further strengthens Aptiv’s industry-leading capabilities in the development of advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle connectivity solutions and Smart Vehicle Architecture.

“Hyundai Motor Group’s cutting-edge engineering and R&D capabilities make them our partner of choice to advance the development of a production-ready autonomous platform.”

Hyundai Motor Group executive vice-chairman Euisun Chung said: “The new joint venture marks the start of a journey with Aptiv toward our common goal of commercialising autonomous driving.

“The combined capabilities of Aptiv, a leading global technology company, and our Group, a global OEM, will create invaluable synergy to lead the autonomous driving landscape.”

The JV will be led by Aptiv Autonomous Mobility president Karl Iagnemma. It will be headquartered in Boston, with other technology centres to be located in the US and Asia.

The Korean technology centre will serve as a base for modification and a testbed for the autonomous driving mobility service platforms.