Hyundai and Kia prepare autonomous truck trials in South Korea
Hyundai Motor and Kia have signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Glovis, Mars Auto and RideFlux to demonstrate Level 4 autonomous heavy-duty trucks in South Korea. Announced on 20 October, the collaboration aims to assess technical reliability and operational safety in real logistics environments, gathering data to support future commercialisation.
The agreement was signed at the Namyang Research and Development Centre in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The partners will use existing Hyundai Motor Group logistics routes to evaluate how autonomous-driving systems interact with vehicle controls under different operating conditions.
Hyundai and Kia have begun developing two demonstration vehicles: one XCIENT hydrogen fuel-cell truck and one XCIENT truck. Both are scheduled to be supplied in early 2027, equipped with customised controllers and vehicle interfaces designed to connect with the autonomous-driving systems.
Testing across urban and long-haul routes
The demonstration programme is scheduled to run through the end of 2027 across two transport environments. One route will combine highway and urban driving over approximately 100 kilometres, while the other will cover around 400 kilometres, predominantly on highways.
South Korean autonomous-driving software companies Mars Auto and RideFlux will install their systems on the specially developed vehicles. Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis will support the demonstration operations using logistics routes already in service.
Hyundai and Kia plan to combine internal development with collaboration involving specialist technology companies. Through this approach, they intend to build experience in integrating vehicle controls with autonomous-driving software and develop underlying technology capable of supporting different autonomous systems.
Operational data to support safety development
Data collected during the trials will inform improvements to vehicle control and safety redundancy. These backup arrangements are designed to allow a secondary system to take over a function if another system develops a fault, helping the vehicle maintain a safe operating state.
The companies identified this capability as particularly relevant to heavy-duty trucks, which frequently undertake long-distance and night-time journeys. The programme will assess these technologies as part of preparations for potential commercialisation.
Park Sang-hyun, Vice President responsible for Commercial Vehicle LCM at Hyundai Motor and Kia, said the collaboration would help the companies obtain vehicle-control technology and operating data suited to real logistics environments. He added that the partners would progressively establish the technical foundation for commercialising Level 4 autonomous heavy-duty trucks.
The initiative follows a separate memorandum signed with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on 1 October concerning Level 4 autonomous city buses. That collaboration includes the development of specialised vehicles and a fleet-control platform, alongside efforts to build an autonomous bus industry ecosystem.
