Hyundai pushes in-house autonomy to 2029, leans on Nvidia from 2028

Seoul: Hyundai Motor Group will launch vehicles equipped with its proprietary driver-assistance ​software in late 2029, two years ​later than planned, turning to Nvidia in the interim to accelerate ​deployment.

The South Korean automaker will partner with the U.S. chipmaker to roll out advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), known as Level 2+ and Level 2++, in 2028, a Hyundai executive said.

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The shift underscores the challenges Hyundai faces ‌in developing automated ⁠driving software ⁠in-house, a project originally slated for a late-2027 debut, while raising concerns over its deepening reliance on Nvidia.

The ​delay has fuelled worries that the automaker could fall further behind Tesla and Chinese rivals in the ​race to commercialise vehicle autonomy.

"Our partnership with Nvidia is not about leaving our destiny entirely in their hands," Park Min-woo, a president at Hyundai Motor Group, told a media briefing.

Park ​said Hyundai will co-design the technology with Nvidia and use ⁠the data ‌from the system to train and refine its own software platform, dubbed ​Atria.

Park, a ​former Nvidia executive who joined Hyundai in January, has spearheaded the automaker's ⁠deepening ties with the chipmaker. His strategy marks a shift ​from that of his predecessor, Song Chang-hyeon, who focused heavily on ​internal software development before his abrupt departure in December.

Hyundai vehicles powered by Nvidia's Hyperion 10 platform will initially bypass expensive lidar sensors in favour of cameras, ultrasonic sensors and a radar, Park said.

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However, Hyundai is considering lidar for its Level 3 automated systems, which allow hands-off driving under specific conditions.

"To truly ensure safety, we believe sensor redundancy is critical: if ‌one sensor fails, others must be able to maintain safe operation," Park said, without providing a timeline for Level 3 commercialisation.

Hyundai and affiliate Kia ​Corp, which together ​rank as the world's ⁠third-largest automaker with annual sales exceeding 7 million vehicles, plan to use their global fleet scale to harvest data to train their autonomous driving technology, Park said. Hyundai said it expects ​to surpass competitors in accumulated driving data by 2033.

Hyundai Motor Group is deepening collaboration with Nvidia spanning autonomous driving, artificial intelligence data centers and humanoid robots developed by Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics.

"Level 2+" generally refers to more capable driver-assistance systems that work on highways, while "Level 2++" systems can handle more complex urban driving, similar to Tesla's Full Self-Driving system. Both still require driver supervision.