Hyundai plays catch-up as Tesla strengthens grip on Korea's EV market

Hyundai Motor is under pressure as Tesla gains ground in Korea’s EV market while Hyundai’s self-driving timeline remains years away. 42dot said Level 2+ cars using Nvidia’s platform will arrive in the first half of 2028, with Level 2++ later that year and Atria AI mass production in the second half of 2029. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Supervised system is already available in limited form in Korea, and its Model Y was the best-selling passenger vehicle in August with 9,638 new registrations.

42dot said Hyundai Motor Group will introduce Level 2+ autonomous driving cars based on Nvidia’s platform in the first half of 2028.

The group plans to roll out Level 2++ technology later in 2028 and mass-produce vehicles with its Atria AI system in the second half of 2029.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Supervised system is already available in Korea in limited form, although broader domestic operation still needs regulatory approval.

Tesla’s Model Y recorded 9,638 new registrations in August, making it the best-selling passenger vehicle in Korea.

An auto industry official said Tesla’s strong sales momentum and BYD’s growing presence are making Korea’s EV market more competitive.

Published Sep 15, 2026 7:00 am KST

Updated Sep 15, 2026 1:52 pm KST

Rise of Tesla, BYD poses increasing threat to domestic EV makers

Hyundai Motor's IONIQ 5 robotaxi equipped with Waymo's self-driving system / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor’s autonomous driving road map is putting its ability to keep pace with Tesla under scrutiny, as the U.S. automaker rapidly gains stronger ground in Korea’s electric vehicle (EV) market.

Last week, Hyundai Motor Group’s self-driving arm — 42dot — said it will introduce cars with Level 2+ autonomous driving technology based on Nvidia’s platform in the first half of 2028, followed by Level 2++ technology later that year. Vehicles equipped with the carmaker’s proprietary Atria artificial intelligence (AI) system will also be mass-produced in the second half of 2029, according to 42dot.

Under the road map, the automaker seeks to close the gap with Tesla and other overseas autonomous driving leaders. But the timeline for Hyundai Motor's self-driving commercialization still leaves much to be desired, as Tesla has already turned into a consumer-facing product.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised system is already available in Korea in limited form, although regulatory approval for its broader domestic operation remains a key hurdle.

Tesla has also been expanding its software strategy through monthly FSD subscriptions, bringing autonomous driving functions closer to a recurring consumer service, rather than simply a hardware feature.

The timing is particularly unfavorable for the Korean carmaker.

Tesla’s Model Y was the best-selling passenger vehicle in Korea in August, with 9,638 new registrations.

That performance suggests Tesla’s competitive threat is no longer limited to the premium imported car segment. The China-made Model Y is increasingly competing directly for mainstream Korean EV buyers, intensifying rivalry in the market for software-defined vehicles and EVs.

Hyundai argues that safety must come before speed. The carmaker said its global fleet of more than 7 million vehicles annually will eventually give it a major data advantage.

Hyundai Motor's electric vehicles used for its autonomous driving demonstration and relevant data collection / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

But that advantage remains a future proposition.

For consumers deciding what EV to buy now, the relevant question is not which automaker may have the largest autonomous driving dataset in the next few years.

That creates a difficult two-year window for Hyundai. If Korean regulators eventually allow Tesla’s supervised FSD system to operate more broadly on domestic roads, Hyundai is feared to lose more ground to Tesla in the nation’s EV market.

The risk is not merely that Hyundai could lose the autonomous driving race. It could lose EV customers before its own technology has enough time to catch up.

“Tesla’s strong sales momentum and BYD’s growing presence suggest Korea’s EV market is already becoming more competitive,” an official from the auto industry said. “For Hyundai Motor Group, therefore, the challenge is no longer simply developing safe autonomous driving technology. The timing also gets more and more significant.”

随着特斯拉在韩国电动汽车市场不断蚕食市场份额，现代汽车面临着越来越大的压力，而现代的自动驾驶技术仍遥遥无期。42dot 预测，采用英伟达平台的 L2+ 级自动驾驶汽车将于 2028 年上半年上市，L2++ 级自动驾驶汽车将于同年晚些时候推出，而 Atria AI 的量产则要等到 2029 年下半年。特斯拉的完全自动驾驶监督系统 (FSD) 已在韩国小规模推出，其 Model Y 车型在 8 月份以 9,638 辆的新车注册量成为韩国最畅销的乘用车。

42dot 表示，现代汽车集团将于 2028 年上半年推出基于英伟达平台的 L2+ 级自动驾驶汽车。

该集团计划在 2028 年晚些时候推出 L2++ 技术，并在 2029 年下半年大规模生产搭载其 Atria AI 系统的车辆。

特斯拉的完全自动驾驶监督系统已经在韩国以有限形式推出，但更广泛的国内运营仍需获得监管部门的批准。

特斯拉 Model Y 在 8 月份获得了 9,638 辆新注册量，成为韩国最畅销的乘用车。

一位汽车行业官员表示，特斯拉强劲的销售势头和比亚迪日益增长的市场份额，使得韩国电动汽车市场竞争更加激烈。

发布于2026年9月15日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月15日下午1:52（韩国标准时间）

特斯拉、比亚迪的崛起对国内电动汽车制造商构成越来越大的威胁

现代汽车的IONIQ 5无人驾驶出租车配备了Waymo的自动驾驶系统 / 图片由现代汽车提供

现代汽车的自动驾驶路线图使其能否跟上特斯拉的步伐受到密切关注，因为这家美国汽车制造商正在韩国电动汽车 (EV) 市场迅速站稳脚跟。

上周，现代汽车集团旗下自动驾驶部门42dot宣布，将于2028年上半年推出基于英伟达平台的L2+级自动驾驶汽车，同年晚些时候还将推出L2++级自动驾驶汽车。42dot还表示，搭载其自主研发的Atria人工智能（AI）系统的汽车也将于2029年下半年开始量产。

根据该路线图，现代汽车力求缩小与特斯拉和其他海外自动驾驶领先企业的差距。但现代汽车自动驾驶商业化的时间表仍远未达到预期，因为特斯拉的自动驾驶产品已经面向消费者市场。

特斯拉的完全自动驾驶（FSD）监督系统已经在韩国以有限的形式推出，但其在韩国更广泛运营的监管批准仍然是一个关键障碍。

特斯拉也一直在通过每月 FSD 订阅服务扩展其软件战略，使自动驾驶功能更接近于一项定期消费服务，而不仅仅是一项硬件功能。

对这家韩国汽车制造商来说，时机尤其不利。

特斯拉 Model Y 是 8 月份韩国最畅销的乘用车，新注册量达 9,638 辆。

这一表现表明，特斯拉的竞争威胁不再局限于高端进口车市场。中国制造的Model Y正日益直接地与特斯拉争夺韩国主流电动汽车市场，加剧了软件定义汽车和电动汽车市场的竞争。

现代汽车认为安全必须优先于速度。这家汽车制造商表示，其每年在全球拥有超过700万辆汽车的庞大车队最终将为其带来巨大的数据优势。

现代汽车用于自动驾驶演示和相关数据收集的电动汽车 / 图片由现代汽车提供

但这种优势仍需未来才能实现。

对于现在决定购买哪款电动汽车的消费者来说，相关的问题不是哪家汽车制造商在未来几年可能拥有最大的自动驾驶数据集。

这对现代汽车来说意味着未来两年将面临严峻挑战。如果韩国监管机构最终允许特斯拉的FSD（全自动驾驶）系统在韩国道路上更广泛地运行，人们担心现代汽车在韩国电动汽车市场上的份额会被特斯拉进一步蚕食。

现代汽车面临的风险不仅在于可能在自动驾驶领域败北，还在于其自身技术尚未发展到足以追赶的程度之前，就可能失去电动汽车客户。

一位汽车行业人士表示：“特斯拉强劲的销售势头和比亚迪日益增长的市场份额表明，韩国电动汽车市场竞争日趋激烈。因此，对于现代汽车集团而言，挑战不再仅仅是开发安全的自动驾驶技术，时机也变得越来越重要。”