Socar and Apex Mobility Secure Competitiveness in Autonomous Vehicle Rental Industry with Multilateral MOU

Socar announced on August 4 that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the development of the autonomous vehicle rental industry along with its autonomous driving subsidiary Apex Mobility, the Korea Rent-A-Car Business Association Federation, and the Korea Transport Institute (KOTI).

The signing ceremony was attended by Jaewook Park, CEO of Socar and Apex Mobility; Hyeok Jang, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Apex Mobility; Yuncheol Choi, Chairman of the Korea Rent-A-Car Business Association Federation; and Youngchan Kim, President of the Korea Transport Institute, among others.

Socar announced on the 4th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the development of the autonomous vehicle rental industry with its autonomous driving subsidiary Apex Mobility, the Korea Rent-A-Car Business Association Federation, and the Korea Transport Institute (KOTI).
· , , CSO are taking a commemorative photo. (From left) Socar

This business agreement centers on joint cooperation spanning not only research and pilot projects for the development of autonomous vehicle rental service technologies, but also the development of service platforms and the enhancement of operational capabilities. The intent is to bolster competitiveness together through collaborative efforts, especially as commercialization of autonomous driving becomes imminent.

Specific areas of collaboration include: joint research for developing autonomous vehicle rental service technologies; development and advancement of autonomous vehicle rental service platforms; and implementation of pilot and demonstration projects, as well as the strengthening of operational capabilities for these services.

The Korea Rent-A-Car Business Association Federation will serve as a channel for gathering industry opinions, convening working-level consultative bodies, and coordinating external cooperation. The Korea Transport Institute plans to provide research validation and data to help guide policy development and regulatory improvements for the rental industry in the upcoming era of autonomous vehicles.

Socar and Apex Mobility will lead the verification and advancement of autonomous vehicle rental service technologies and take the initiative in fostering the related ecosystem.

Jaewook Park, CEO of Socar and Apex Mobility, commented, "We expect this agreement to serve as a catalyst for enhancing competitiveness that encompasses both national research institutions and the rental service industry as a whole." He added, "We will accelerate the advancement of these services through demonstration projects and more in the future."

Yuncheol Choi, Chairman of the Korea Rent-A-Car Business Association Federation, said, "This business agreement is meaningful in that it has established a practical foundation for cooperation between the industry and technology and research organizations in preparation for the commercialization of autonomous rental services." He continued, "We will combine our respective expertise to promote key initiatives such as platform development, while also actively seeking institutional improvement measures."

Meanwhile, in May, Socar established Apex Mobility as an autonomous driving joint venture with total capital of 150 billion won. Socar and Apex Mobility plan to build a data pipeline capable of learning from 1.1 million kilometers of driving data per day and will also begin operating fully sensor-equipped vehicles—outfitted with lidar and cameras—aimed at developing a Korean-style autonomous driving foundation model.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.