Avride, a developer of autonomous driving technologies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hyundai Motor Company to jointly develop and operate vehicles capable of fully autonomous driving.
Together, the companies will focus on pairing Hyundai’s EV platform, and more specifically the IONIQ 5 EV, with Avride’s autonomous technologies to facilitate future mobility solutions, including robotaxis and autonomous delivery services.
The MoU builds on Avride’s existing autonomous driving activities, having previously used Hyundai Motor vehicles, including the Sonata and IONIQ 5, as the basis for its AV test fleet. For Avride, this new partnership will help it expand on this capability with Hyundai Motor serving as a key technology partner. Through it, they are mutually aiming to enable the rollout of AVs equipped with Avride’s autonomous driving system.
To this end, the collaboration will also motivate a significant expansion of Avride’s IONIQ 5-based fleet, with the first new vehicles set to be deployed in the coming months. These vehicles will be assembled at the new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, based in Georgia, and then integrated with Avride’s autonomous driving system. Later this year, the fleet will make its debut in Dallas, TX, where it will operate under the robotaxi services Avride provides in the city exclusively through Uber’s ride-hailing network.
While developing a fleet of robotaxi-focused autonomous vehicles, Avride and Hyundai Motor’s partnership will explore further areas of collaboration, including the potential for Avride’s robots to be used in autonomous delivery services, as part of a shared commitment to advancing the future of smart transportation.
