Hyundai Motor Group targets hands-free urban driving by 2029

Hyundai Motor Group plans to mass-produce hands-free urban driving vehicles in the second half of 2029, with Nvidia-based autonomous driving models coming a year earlier. The roadmap was unveiled Friday at 42dot’s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The group is pursuing a two-track strategy that combines Nvidia technology for faster commercialization with its own Atria AI system for long-term independence.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to apply Nvidia’s vehicle AI computing platform and autonomous driving software to Level 2+ vehicles in the first half of 2028 and Level 2++ vehicles in the second half.

Level 2+ allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on highways, while Level 2++ extends hands-free driving to urban roads.

The group aims to mass-produce Atria AI-powered Level 2++ vehicles in the second half of 2029.

Hyundai Motor and Kia sell more than 7 million vehicles annually across about 190 countries, giving the group a large potential source of real-world driving data.

The group plans a real-world Level 4 autonomous driving pilot in Gwangju by the end of this year in partnership with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Published Sep 13, 2026 2:25 pm KST

Updated Sep 13, 2026 3:07 pm KST

Group plans Nvidia-powered vehicles from 2028 while developing its own system

Park Min-woo, president and head of the AVP Division and CEO of 42dot, speaks during Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous driving media day in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor Group plans to start mass-producing vehicles capable of hands-free autonomous driving in urban areas in the second half of 2029, while launching vehicles using Nvidia’s validated autonomous driving technology a year earlier.

The group unveiled the road map Friday during an autonomous driving media day at the headquarters of 42dot, its autonomous driving software subsidiary in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The strategy centers on a two-track approach: using Nvidia’s technology to accelerate commercialization while developing its own autonomous driving system to secure long-term technological independence.

The group plans to apply Nvidia’s vehicle AI computing platform and autonomous driving software to Level 2+ vehicles in the first half of 2028 and Level 2++ vehicles in the second half. Level 2+ allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on highways, while Level 2++ extends hands-free driving to urban roads.

At the same time, the group is advancing Atria AI, its proprietary end-to-end (E2E) autonomous driving system jointly developed by its Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division and 42dot. It aims to mass-produce Atria AI-powered Level 2++ vehicles in the second half of 2029.

A key part of the strategy is the group’s newly activated Data Flywheel, which creates a continuous cycle of data collection, AI training, validation and deployment. Hyundai Motor and Kia sell more than 7 million vehicles annually across about 190 countries, providing a potential large-scale source of real-world driving data.

The group currently operates about 40 dedicated data-collection vehicles and is standardizing sensor systems across Hyundai Motor, Kia, 42dot and Motional around Nvidia’s DRIVE Hyperion 10 architecture to improve data collection and utilization.

“Competitiveness is determined by how much data you secure, how quickly you learn and how effectively you can reflect those results in actual products and services,” said Park Min-woo, president and head of the AVP Division and CEO of 42dot.

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42dot is also developing vision-language-action (VLA) models alongside its E2E technology. The company is currently validating the VLA technology through simulations and plans to begin real-vehicle testing late this year through early next year.

The group plans to conduct a real-world Level 4 autonomous driving pilot in Gwangju by the end of this year in partnership with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, using the resulting data to further train and validate its AI systems.

The group is seeking to narrow the gap with U.S. and Chinese autonomous driving leaders. Tesla is estimated to have accumulated about 7 billion miles of real-road driving data as of the end of last year, while Waymo and Baidu had accumulated about 160 million kilometers and 110 million kilometers, respectively, by the middle of last year. Hyundai Motor Group did not disclose its cumulative data.

Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous driving test vehicles are displayed at 42dot's office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

“Once mass production of autonomous driving systems begins in earnest, we could surpass the amount of data accumulated by competitors within five years,” said Jeong Seong-gyun, a group lead at 42dot’s Atria Division.

Park said the group could potentially move faster but deliberately set the 2029 target to avoid rushing an immature system.

“The 2029 timeline is a strategic choice to focus on our North Star while using Nvidia’s technology for mass production starting in 2028,” he said.

现代汽车集团计划于2029年下半年量产无需人工干预的城市驾驶车辆，而基于英伟达技术的自动驾驶车型则提前一年推出。该路线图于周五在位于京畿道城南市的42dot总部正式发布。现代汽车集团正采取双轨战略，一方面利用英伟达技术加快商业化进程，另一方面则采用自主研发的Atria人工智能系统实现长期自主发展。

现代汽车集团计划在 2028 年上半年将英伟达的车辆人工智能计算平台和自动驾驶软件应用于 L2+ 级车辆，并在下半年应用于 L2++ 级车辆。

2+级自动驾驶允许驾驶员在高速公路上将双手从方向盘上移开，而2++级自动驾驶则将免手驾驶扩展到城市道路。

该集团的目标是在 2029 年下半年大规模生产 Atria AI 驱动的 L2++ 级车辆。

现代汽车和起亚汽车每年在全球约 190 个国家销售超过 700 万辆汽车，这为该集团提供了大量潜在的真实世界驾驶数据来源。

该组织计划与国土交通部合作，于今年年底前在光州开展 L4 级自动驾驶的实际试点项目。

发布于2026年9月13日下午2:25（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月13日下午3:07（韩国标准时间）

该集团计划从2028年开始推出搭载英伟达芯片的汽车，同时也在开发自己的系统。

现代汽车集团自动驾驶媒体日活动于周五在京畿道城南市举行，42dot公司总裁兼AVP事业部负责人、首席执行官朴珉宇在活动上发表讲话。图片由现代汽车提供。

现代汽车集团计划于 2029 年下半年开始在城市地区大规模生产能够实现无人驾驶的汽车，同时提前一年推出采用英伟达已验证的自动驾驶技术的汽车。

该集团于周五在京畿道城南市的自动驾驶软件子公司 42dot 总部举行的自动驾驶媒体日上公布了该路线图。

该战略的核心是双轨制方法：利用英伟达的技术加速商业化，同时开发自己的自动驾驶系统，以确保长期的技术独立性。

该集团计划在2028年上半年将英伟达的车载人工智能计算平台和自动驾驶软件应用于L2+级车辆，并在下半年应用于L2++级车辆。L2+级允许驾驶员在高速公路上双手离开方向盘，而L2++级则将免手驾驶扩展到城市道路。

与此同时，该集团正在推进其自主研发的端到端（E2E）自动驾驶系统Atria AI，该系统由其先进车辆平台（AVP）部门与42dot联合开发。该集团的目标是在2029年下半年量产搭载Atria AI的L2++级自动驾驶车辆。

该战略的关键部分是集团新近启动的“数据飞轮”系统，该系统构建了一个持续的数据收集、人工智能训练、验证和部署循环。现代汽车和起亚汽车每年在全球约190个国家销售超过700万辆汽车，这为集团提供了潜在的大规模真实驾驶数据来源。

该集团目前运营着约 40 辆专用数据采集车，并正在围绕英伟达的 DRIVE Hyperion 10 架构，对现代汽车、起亚、42dot 和 Motional 的传感器系统进行标准化，以提高数据采集和利用率。

“竞争力取决于你获取了多少数据，你学习的速度有多快，以及你能多有效地将这些结果反映到实际产品和服务中，”42dot 总裁兼 AVP 部门负责人、首席执行官朴敏宇 (Park Min-woo) 表示。

现代汽车首席执行官强调自动驾驶和人工智能机器人技术的作用

现代汽车和起亚汽车扩大与英伟达在自动驾驶领域的战略合作

现代汽车任命新任自动驾驶部门负责人，负责陷入困境的自动驾驶部门。

42dot公司除了开发端到端（E2E）技术外，还在开发视觉-语言-动作（VLA）模型。该公司目前正在通过仿真验证VLA技术，并计划于今年年底至明年初开始进行实车测试。

该集团计划与国土交通部合作，于今年年底前在光州开展 L4 级自动驾驶试点项目，并利用试点所得数据进一步训练和验证其人工智能系统。

该集团正寻求缩小与美国和中国自动驾驶领域领先企业的差距。据估计，截至去年年底，特斯拉已积累了约70亿英里的实际道路驾驶数据，而截至去年年中，Waymo和百度分别积累了约1.6亿公里和1.1亿公里。现代汽车集团未披露其累计数据。

周五，现代汽车集团的自动驾驶测试车辆在京畿道城南市的42dot办公室展出。图片由现代汽车提供。

“一旦自动驾驶系统开始大规模生产，我们可以在五年内超过竞争对手积累的数据量，”42dot Atria 部门负责人郑成均表示。

朴先生表示，该团队或许可以加快速度，但特意将目标设定为 2029 年，以避免仓促推进一个尚不成熟的系统。

“2029 年的时间线是一个战略选择，旨在专注于我们的北极星目标，同时从 2028 年开始使用英伟达的技术进行大规模生产，”他说。