ED Innovative mobility partnership

Hyundai Motor, Naver set to experiment with new possibilities

The country's biggest automaker and top search engine platform have reached an agreement to offer various mobility services. Under the agreement signed Friday, Hyundai Motor Group and Naver will work together to create content and services for connected cars and synergy for mobility services, and develop win-win models for small businesses.

One of the first services the companies will launch will enable passengers to access Naver services such as maps, search engine, shopping, webtoons and music streaming through Hyundai Motor vehicles' infotainment system. Customers will also be able to use advanced connectivity such as receiving alarms from Naver when the vehicle needs to be inspected.

Hyundai Motor Group said combining its advanced automobile technology with Naver's online platform would be a meaningful step toward creating a mobility ecosystem and diversifying customers' experiences.

“We will offer enhanced transportation services that customers can feel substantially, and innovate the customer experience in overall mobility services through the partnership of automobiles and ICT,” said Chi Young-cho, Hyundai Motor's executive vice president for strategy and technology. Naver CEO Han Seong-sook said her company would experiment with new possibilities with Hyundai Motor, noting that the mobility industry could bring many changes for various types of users.

What can be sensed from the mobility alliance between Hyundai Motor and Naver is that boundaries between the manufacturing and services industries are crumbling. These could be everyday occurrences if such key components of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as big data, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and autonomous driving keep evolving.

This is why the government should not forget the concept of mobility and endeavor to support this trend institutionally. The administration ought to help businesses seek innovation based on partnerships. What is needed first then is for policymakers to ease regulations and boost autonomy so that our creative entrepreneurs can compete in the global market without any restriction.