Hyundai lines up $13 bn for new mobility tech

Seoul: Hyundai Motor Group said it will invest 18 trillion won ($13 billion) to apply an advanced software programme to all of its vehicles and offer its customers regular software updating services.

The South Korean carmaker has decided to make the massive software investment to launch most of its new vehicles as "software defined vehicle (SDV)" in global markets from 2025, Hyundai said in a statement.

Hyundai Motor Group aims to regularly update the performance and function of all vehicles to be sold globally from 2025 as it seeks to morph into a future mobility solutions provider, reports Yonhap news agency.

A Hyundai official said: "Currently, customers need to visit after-sales service centres to update their vehicles' software programs. But wireless updating services will be available for SDVs and their residual value will remain high."

In related efforts, Hyundai Motor Group will make all vehicles to be launched from 2023, including combustion engine and all-electric models, receive wireless software updates, the official said. Of the planned investments, Hyundai will spend some of them in developing autonomous driving technology, improving connectivity services, and building a big data center, the statement said.

The company expects the number of vehicles that have registered for Hyundai's connected car services to jump to 20 million in 2025 from an estimated 10 million at the end of this year. It will analyse accumulated data from the connected car services and utilise the data to provide customised software services for its vehicle owners, the statement said.