Sonata

Make
Hyundai
Segment
Sedan

Major automakers are competing to be the first to offer a fully self-driving vehicle, with several partnering with outside companies to help develop the technology. Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with Google's self-driving company Waymo while BMW has partnered with rival company Mercedes-Benz to built autonomous cars.

Hyundai Motor Group is the latest automaker to announce a major commitment towards autonomy through a new partnership with Aptiv (formerly Delphi Automotive). The two companies have announced a joint partnership focused on advancing "the design, development, and commercialization of SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomous technologies."

Level 4 autonomy is where a car drives itself but the driver can take control. Level 5 involves no help from the driver in a vehicle without any physical controls. Hyundai says the joint venture will begin testing fully driverless systems in 2020 and have a platform ready by 2022. This doesn't mean you will just be able to go buy a self-driving vehicle in 2022, however, because Hyundai says the platform will only be available to robotaxi providers, fleet operators, and automotive manufacturers.

Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv will each own 50 percent of the partnership, which is being valued at $4 billion. Hyundai and its affiliates - Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, and Hyundai Mobis - will contribute $1.6 billion in cash at closing plus $400 million in vehicle engineering services, R&D resources, and access to intellectual property. In exchange, Aptiv will provide its autonomous driving technology, intellectual property, and 700 employees.

"The new joint venture marks the start of a journey with Aptiv toward our common goal of commercializing autonomous driving," said Euisun Chung, Executive Vice Chairman, Hyundai Motor Group. "The combined capabilities of Aptiv, a leading global technology company, and our Group, a global OEM, will create invaluable synergy to lead the autonomous driving landscape."

"This partnership further strengthens Aptiv's industry-leading capabilities in the development of advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle connectivity solutions, and Smart Vehicle Architecture," said Kevin Clark, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aptiv. "Hyundai Motor Group's cutting-edge engineering and R&D capabilities make them our partner of choice to advance the development of a production-ready autonomous platform."