Hyundai Motor Group today announced a new global strategy to transform its fleet to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) by 2025. The initiative is part of an 18 trillion won (about $12.6 billion) investment by 2030 in a global software center and an R&D headquarters to bolster software capabilities for SDV development.

The initiative—similar to those in the works by other forward-thinking traditional OEMs and the foundation for most new mobility OEMs like Tesla—was presented during the Group’s Unlock the Software Age global online forum. The group hopes that it will deliver “an unprecedented era of mobility,” with constantly evolving mobility and software technology ensuring that all of its group’s models from the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis are kept up to date.

This will enable vehicle functions related to safety, convenience, connectivity, security, and driving performance to be upgraded via over-the-air (OTA) software updates. Based on the group’s next-generation EV platform, an integrated controller, and an internally developed ccOS (Connected Car Operating System), all vehicles will be equipped to receive OTA software updates by 2025.

The group initially introduced an OTA service in 2021, but from 2023 will expand it across vehicle models in global market regions able to receive connected car services. It plans to offer FoD (feature on demand) services next year, giving customers the ability to purchase functions and features that meet their needs and tastes. By 2025, the group expects 20 million vehicles to be registered to its connected car service worldwide, with plans for connected vehicles will create unprecedented value and provide customers with personalized services such as software subscriptions.

The new data platform will enable the company to create an open ecosystem in partnership with industries such as logistics and accommodation. The connected car data will network with future group mobility solutions including roboshuttles or PBVs (purpose-built vehicles), AAM (advanced air mobility), robotaxis, and robots.

“By transforming all vehicles to software-defined vehicles by 2025, Hyundai Motor Group will completely redefine the concept of the automobile and take the lead in ushering in a never-before-experienced era of mobility,” said Chung Kook Park, President and Head of the R&D Division, Hyundai Motor Group. “Creating visionary vehicles empowered with the ability to evolve through software will enable customers to keep their vehicles up to date with the latest features and technology long after they have left the factory.”

 

Next-generation platforms

The group plans to develop a shared hardware and software platform for vehicles, enabling vehicle components to be shared across different vehicle segments and leading to more efficient vehicle development and greater cost reductions. The reduction in vehicle complexity is intended to enhance the effectiveness of SDV technology.

The group will introduce vehicles in 2025 based on two new EV platforms called eM and eS created under its Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA) system. The eM platform is being developed for EVs across all segments, providing a 50% improvement in driving range compared to current EVs and supporting Level 3 or higher autonomous driving technology. The eS platform is an EV “skateboard” exclusively for PBVs, with a fully flexible structure to meet B2B demands and provide custom solutions for companies in the delivery, logistics, and car-hailing sectors.

The new platforms “will lead to further standardization and modularization of core components of electric vehicles such as batteries and motors, while offering advantages in sectors additional to electric vehicles,” said Paul Choo, Executive Vice President of Head of the Electronics & Infotainment Development Center of Hyundai Motor Group.

The group is also integrating vehicle controller development. Previously, the software system needed to be upgraded separately for each controller to upgrade the functions of vehicles. The integrated controller will make this process more efficient.

The overall number of controllers can be significantly reduced by integrating lower-level electrical components managed by top-level controllers. The current infotainment and advanced driver assistance systems are both currently undergoing function advancements with the introduction of the latest integrated controller technology. By 2025, the comfort and driving controllers will also be gradually integrated.

The integrated controller approach will enable more efficient development across vehicle segments and models optimized for each region and ease the process of adding new features and improving performance. The cycle of software updates will be shortened, enabling the group to respond swiftly to meet rapidly changing market and customer needs.

“The electrical and electronic architecture can be thought of as an organically connected structure that improves the function of a vehicle’s electrical device components,” said Hyung Ki Ahn, Vice President of Electronics Development Group.

He says that the company chose to implement a “domain centralized architecture,” which structures groups and integrates controllers throughout the vehicle into four areas: comfort, driving, infotainment, and ADAS.

 

Connected car operating system

The company expects a new connected car operating system will prove key to the group’s ambition to lead in providing transformative mobility solutions. The ccOS software platform can be applied to all controllers and can maximize hardware performance through extremely high computing power.

Efficient collection and processing of the large amounts of information generated by connected cars require high-performance information-processing semiconductors, so the group is creating the ccOS on an Nvidia Drive platform, hoping to capitalize on GPU company’s world-leading strengths in AI, machine learning, graphics cognition, and processing.

“This year, the group will apply an advanced Highway Driving Pilot (HDP) on the Genesis G90, which is a Level 3 technology for autonomous driving based on the second-generation integrated controller,” said Woongjun Jang, Senior Vice President and Head of Autonomous Driving Center of Hyundai Motor Group. “The group is also developing its Remote Parking Pilot (RPP) for Level 3 autonomous driving.”

A third-generation integrated controller is being developed based on the next-generation high-performance semiconductor to advance autonomous driving technology. The new integrated controller will enable even faster computation and more efficient control by installing a higher-performance CPU and increasing the integration between controllers compared to the currently commercialized second-generation integrated controller.

The new controller will be the basis for the group’s expansion for mass-produced Level 3 vehicles as well as the eventual commercialization of Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous driving systems. It is being developed to deliver improved heat dissipation, lower noise levels, and reduced production costs.

 

Life-cycle data platform

The group is building a new data platform for its vehicles’ entire life cycle including manufacturing, production, and operation to be used to create a broad range of innovative services. The data platform will focus on technology capable of identifying how data at each stage of the vehicle’s life cycle is generated in addition to selectively collecting and analyzing the necessary data to provide valuable services to customers.

“Hyundai Motor Group’s data platform will not only be simply for driving,” said Eunsook Jin, Executive Vice President and Head of the ICT Innovation Division of Hyundai Motor Group. “It will also play an important role in enhancing the convenience and diversity of the customer’s mobility experience by engaging throughout the vehicle’s entire life cycle. Going forward, we’ll also help create a new mobility ecosystem, connecting cars with other mobility devices, based on data connectivity and scalability.”

In addition to the tens of thousands of connected cars worldwide, data will be harvested from other sources such as traffic signals, infrastructure, and satellite navigation mapping. The group is strengthening its staffing and resource capabilities to enable it to create valuable information and services.

 

End-to-end mobility

The group foresees a future where the mobility industry is entirely transformed, enabling people to enjoy convenient, seamless travel, even if they don’t own a car. Its mid-to-long-term strategy will accommodate a new dimension of mobility service and software will be the core technology that delivers this future by seamlessly connecting new-mobility devices and services.

“We’re talking about the entire end-to-end journey, from leaving your house and meeting friends to things like charging, shopping, eating, and finally returning home,” explained Chang Song, President and Head of Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) Division of Hyundai Motor Group. “Software-defined mobility will provide a holistic user experience based on vast mobility data and AI technology that understands user intentions and context. This way, all these journeys can be seamlessly connected.”

The global software center will help develop software-defined mobility devices and solutions to expand beyond the vehicle market to the mobility and logistics markets. It will establish a system for its self-developed mobility devices to connect to smartphone ecosystems under one urban OS and make autonomous driving possible.

“Today, Hyundai Motor Group has revealed the technology concepts, strategies, and future scenarios related to software-defined vehicles that will underpin the core of future mobility,” said Chung Kook Park, President and Head of R&D Division, Hyundai Motor Group. “Our holistic approach will empower Hyundai Motor Group to lead the transformation in the mobility paradigm.”