Hyundai Motor set to revamp software strategy amid Tesla’s FSD launch
Song Chang-hyun, right, then-head of Hyundai Motor Group's global software center, shares the carmaker's software vision during CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Jan. 9, 2024. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor
Outgoing Hyundai Motor President Song Chang-hyun / Courtesy of 42dot
Hyundai Motor Group is set to revamp its software strategy, after the head of the carmaker’s global software center offered to step down apparently due to the firm’s little progress in autonomous driving.
According to the industry, Hyundai Motor President Song Chang-hyun, who spearheaded the carmaker’s software-defined vehicle (SDV) business, recently resigned from his post.
The carmaker did not elaborate on the reason behind his abrupt departure, but Song appears to have taken responsibility for the lack of tangible outcomes in the carmaker’s autonomous driving technologies, compared with its overseas counterparts such as Tesla.
Tesla recently started its Full Self-Driving (FSD) service for Korean customers. The Level 2 partial self-driving draws satisfactory responses from a number of Tesla Model S and Model X owners here, as the quasi-autonomous driving service enables them to drastically reduce fatigue on the road.
However, Hyundai Motor Group, as a latecomer in autonomous driving, still faces a tough time catching up with Tesla.
“It was not an easy journey for us to create a vehicle as an artificial intelligence (AI) device by combining software into hardware,” Song told employees in an email.
He founded 42dot, a self-driving software developer, in 2019, which was acquired by the automotive group in August 2022.
Even after the high-profile acquisition, however, Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving outcomes fell far short of those from its rivals.
Other overseas carmakers, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, are on course to apply Level 3 technologies into their vehicles.
Hyundai Motor Group aims to equip its vehicles with its Level 3 Highway Driving Pilot technologies, but its timeline has been delayed and no dates are presently confirmed.
Market analysts said Song’s resignation is seen as part of the carmaker’s efforts to shift its autonomous driving strategy.
“The carmaker’s top executives look to have decided to focus more on partnership with Nvidia, rather than pushing for its independent development of smart cars,” Meritz Securities analyst Kim Joon-sung said. “The top management of the carmaker believes the renewed strategy will help Hyundai Motor Group reduce its self-driving tech gap with Tesla.”
Industry officials said Hyundai Motor Group is moving to rebuild its strategy for autonomous driving in the face of Tesla’s positive FSD debut here.
“Tesla’s FSD is making a sensation to local customers, and chances are the carmaker will soon introduce price-competitive lineups equipped with the software,” an industry official said.
“This will boost sales for Tesla vehicles further, even at a critical time when sales for the Model Y electric vehicle (EV) are growing rapidly here by absorbing part of the market share from Hyundai Motor Group’s EVs.”