April 24, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor  is seeking to strengthen its partnership with Israeli self-driving car technology maker Mobileye to develop autonomous cars. 

“We are currently in talks with Mobileye for a tie-up,” a Hyundai spokesperson told The Investor on July 10. “But the partnership is still at an early stage and nothing concrete has been decided.”

Earlier on the day, a local media outlet reported the two firms are jointly developing autonomous car technology to be fitted in Hyundai’s future vehicles. 

The partnership gained momentum following Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun’s visit to Israel in May where he met Mobileye executives, including Amnon Shashua, co-founder and CTO of Mobileye. 

In June, Hyundai’s working group flew to Mobileye’s Israeli headquarters to discuss details. 

Mobileye officials are reportedly planning to visit Hyundai Motor’s headquarters in the fourth quarter for follow-up discussions. 

Hyundai has been ramping up its effort to develop internet-connected cars and driverless technology to lead the future car market. 

To do so, the carmaker said it will focus on forging partnerships with tech firms, instead of buying other carmakers. 

It has partnered with Cisco to develop a connected car platform, while the carmaker recently clinched a deal with Chinese Baidu. “We expect to see more collaboration with other IT firms in the future to provide eco-friendly cars and develop future technologies,” Chung was quoted as saying in June. 

Mobileye, which was recently acquired by US chipmaker Intel, has been expanding partnerships with global carmakers to roll out autonomous cars. It formed an alliance with BMW and Delphi to deliver a self-driving car by 2021. 

Founded in 1999, the Israeli-tech firm has become the leader in digital vision technology for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, allowing vehicles to detect warnings and safely navigate the streets.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)