Accelerating Future Mobility Transition and Robotaxi Deployment... Hyundai Mobis, KGM, and Others to Collaborate on Building the Future Mobility Ecosystem

MOU on Advancing Autonomous Driving and Robotaxi Technology, and Chip Performance Verification

Kim Junggwan Test Drives Robotaxi in Gangnam to Assess Domestic Autonomous Driving Technology

"We Will Develop a Comprehensive Support Package to Help ICE Parts Suppliers Transition"

In order to build a future mobility ecosystem in Korea, Hyundai Mobis and KGM have agreed to cooperate in advancing autonomous driving technology. This marks the first achievement of the "Growing Together M.AX Project," led by the Manufacturing Artificial Intelligence Transformation (M.AX) Alliance—a joint effort between the public and private sectors.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it held a "Future Mobility Ecosystem Development Cooperation" business agreement signing ceremony at Hyundai Mobis headquarters. The Ministry also hosted a corporate roundtable aimed at accelerating the establishment of the future mobility ecosystem.

RideFlux driverless autonomous vehicle undergoing test operation in Sangam, Seoul. RideFlux

During the signing ceremony, a total of five Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed as part of the M.AX Alliance’s AI Future Mobility Division activities. The agreements brought together a total of 12 companies and associations—including automakers, large component manufacturers, large and small fabless companies, mobility platform and autonomous driving firms, and the Fabless Association—as well as four support institutions: the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, the Institute for Advanced Autonomous & Intelligent Automotive Parts, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Planning and Evaluation, and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.

Over the past several months, the AI Future Mobility Division has been gathering feedback from Korean companies and discussing necessary support policies to achieve its goal of "building a robust future mobility ecosystem." Key focus areas include domestic production of automotive semiconductors, ushering in the era of autonomous passenger, commercial, and robotaxi vehicles, and establishing a data ecosystem. A representative of the Ministry explained, "Many future mobility parts manufacturers often lack sufficient funding and personnel to secure technology in a timely manner, and even when they do acquire the necessary technology, a lack of mass production experience or collaboration opportunities with demand-side companies prevents them from commercializing it." The representative added, "With the recognition that the gap between technology development and commercialization is a major obstacle to the transition to future mobility, we have been actively discovering projects under the Growing Together M.AX Project to address this challenge."

This project is a "growth-oriented win-win cooperation" model where large companies, SMEs, and startups connect their innovative capabilities and strengths to transcend their individual limitations and create growth opportunities for all. The MOUs signed on this day encompass one agreement for the future mobility transition of a midsize automaker, three aimed at accelerating the commercialization of automotive semiconductors, and one to strengthen robotaxi competitiveness, making a total of five MOUs.

◆Automakers Gain Technology, Tech Companies Gain Commercialization Experience= First, in order to bolster cooperation for advanced autonomous driving, the companies will work together to apply Hyundai Mobis’s software-defined vehicle (SDV)—currently under development through government R&D—and Rideflux’s autonomous driving solution to Level 2 Plus (LV2+) vehicles being developed by KGM. According to the Ministry, KGM expects to enhance its autonomous driving competitiveness through this collaboration, while Hyundai Mobis and Rideflux will gain valuable field experience that can help them with future market expansion.

Commercialization partnerships between demand-side companies and small fabless firms will also be strengthened. Hyundai Mobis, as the demand company, will specify required semiconductor items and technical requirements; small fabless companies will develop semiconductors accordingly, and Hyundai Mobis will evaluate the feasibility of commercialization by verifying performance and other aspects.

The companies will also take on the challenge of developing chiplet-based SoC (System-on-Chip), integrating chips developed by various fabless companies. A chiplet SoC structure modularizes and integrates semiconductors with different functions into a single package. LG Electronics will integrate its own base chip (responsible for inter-chip communication, etc.) with Bossemiconductor’s AI chip—a SME fabless—while Hanamicron, a back-end processing company, will be in charge of individual chip quality assurance and packaging.

To reinforce robotaxi competitiveness, the parties will share data and promote localization of parts. Robotaxi companies Kakao Mobility, SWM, and Rideflux will jointly establish a data-sharing format, including sensor positions and performance data, and when participating in government-led pilot programs, will collect and share data in accordance with this format. In addition, for vehicles introduced in future pilot operations, the use of localized (domestic) parts, such as lidar—which has been dependent on imports—will be considered as a priority. The supporting agencies plan to provide packaged assistance in technology, infrastructure, and manpower to ensure that these business agreements lead to tangible corporate growth.

Jung Kwan Kim, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Asia Business Daily DB

◆Government to Develop Comprehensive Support Package for ICE Parts Manufacturers’ Transition= At the corporate roundtable that followed the signing ceremony, representatives from the participating companies and organizations exchanged views. A Ministry official stated, "The companies agreed on the need for inter-company collaboration to facilitate the transition to future mobility and requested the government to maintain its support and attention so that this business agreement proceeds smoothly." The official added, "They especially asked the government to work on both the development of a data ecosystem and the commercialization of autonomous driving for robotaxis, buses, and trucks."

After the meeting, Kim Junggwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, rode in a robotaxi undergoing pilot operations in the Gangnam area, traveling on public roads for about 10 minutes to check the level of Korea’s autonomous driving technology. Minister Kim said, "We plan to create a comprehensive support package to help internal combustion engine parts suppliers transition stably into new areas, such as future mobility, robotics, and defense, according to their circumstances." He added, "It is urgent to resolve the difficulties our companies face not only in vehicle semiconductors but also in data, which is a core asset for AI competitiveness, and therefore, we will accelerate the discovery and announcement of new projects under the Growing Together M.AX Project in the data sector as well."

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