Hyundai Motor faces autonomous driving dilemma

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun speaks during Kia's 80th anniversary event in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Dec. 5. Yonhap

Hyundai Motor Group is facing a dilemma over its deadlocked autonomous driving business, as the carmaker struggles to find a qualified executive to lead the carmaker’s advanced vehicle platform (AVP) division even after its year-end reshuffle of top management.

The automaker completed Thursday the reshuffle of its presidential-level management, but failed to name a successor to former AVP chief Song Chang-hyun.

Song resigned from the post on Dec. 5, taking responsibility for the carmaker’s weak progress in the self-driving business.

The leadership vacuum has meant delays in planning at a critical time, as both Tesla and Chinese carmakers continue to offer autonomous driving as part of their electric vehicle (EV) sales approaches.

The strategic importance of in-vehicle software, which powers advanced self-driving, continues to grow, and was part of the reason for the latest top management reshuffle from the Korean carmaker.

Hyundai Motor Group underscored the strategic importance of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) as a keyword, and two out of the carmaker's four newly-promoted presidents will focus on accelerating its drive to embrace SDVs.

Manfred Harrer, president and head of R&D at Hyundai Motor, will oversee research tasks for the carmaker, and Jung Jun-cheul, president and head of manufacturing solutions, will speed up its software-defined manufacturing transformation.

However, the lack of AVP chief still makes it difficult for the firm to reshape its self-driving strategy in a timely manner.

In 2022, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun expressed deep trust in Song by purchasing a 93-percent stake in his 42dot self-driving software development startup for 427.6 billion won ($289 million).

Song Chang-hyun, right, former head of Hyundai Motor's advanced vehicle platform division, explains the carmaker's transformation into a software-defined vehicle maker during the 2024 CES tech fair in Las Vegas, Jan. 9, 2024. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

Song became the head of the carmaker’s AVP division and carried out work establishing the carmaker’s self-driving operating system.

However, Song's ambitious vision was eclipsed by rapid progress from rival carmakers.

Tesla recently caused a sensation with the release of the supervised version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) service in Korea. General Motors (GM) Korea also launched its Super Cruise hands-free advanced driver assistance system locally.

The head of Hyundai Motor Group acknowledged the delayed progress.

“We are somewhat late, and there may be some gaps between Hyundai Motor Group and Tesla or Chinese rivals in the business,” Chung told reporters during Kia’s 80th anniversary event on Dec. 5. “We will place more emphasis on safety, as safety is much more important than the tech gap.”

Industry officials said Hyundai Motor Group appears to be taking a cautious approach to appointing Song’s successor.

“As the carmaker has faced unceasing controversies over the direction of its self-driving business, the group’s top management will remain more than careful on the nomination of the next AVP chief,” an official from the industry said.