Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled a roadmap to apply Level 2+ autonomous driving technology to its mass-produced vehicles by the end of 2027. As Hyundai has often been seen as lagging in the global race for autonomous driving technology, the release of this blueprint has drawn considerable attention from the industry. The group plans to enhance autonomous driving performance through vehicle optimization and large-scale learning infrastructure.
Hyundai Unveils “Atria AI” Autonomous Driving Technology… Mass Production by Late 2027
On March 28, Hyundai Motor Group hosted Pleos 25, a developer conference at COEX in Seoul, drawing domestic and international tech experts.
During the event, Song Chang Hyun, Head of the AVP Division at Hyundai and Kia, introduced Atria AI in his keynote address. This cutting-edge autonomous driving technology recognizes road configurations and conditions without relying on HD maps. Song emphasized that Atria AI was designed holistically, balancing economic viability, scalability, and efficiency.
He also shared the roadmap for implementing the technology. In the third quarter of 2026, the technology will be applied to SDV pace cars (small-scale production vehicles for tech verification), with plans to apply Level 2+ autonomous driving technology to mass-produced vehicles by the end of 2027. Level 2+ refers to a stage where the car drives itself while the driver only needs to monitor the road ahead. During the event, Hyundai also released a demonstration video of the autonomous driving technology.
Autonomous driving and software-defined vehicles (SDVs) are inseparable. To realize autonomous driving, highly advanced software is essential. This includes rapidly and accurately processing data collected from sensors such as cameras, LiDARs, and radars, which requires powerful graphics processing units (GPUs).
Closing the Gap in Global Autonomous Driving Technology… Song Chang Hyeon Emphasizes Ongoing Optimization for Greater Efficiency
With the announcement of its autonomous driving roadmap, the Hyundai Motor Group has attracted significant industry attention. The group has been perceived as falling behind in the global competition for autonomous technology. Hyundai is developing its autonomous driving technology primarily through its affiliates 42dot and Motional.
According to the 2024 global autonomous driving technology rankings released by market research firm Guidehouse, Motional ranked 15th—ten spots lower than the previous year. Guidehouse annually assesses companies worldwide based on their strategic direction and execution capabilities in autonomous driving. This year, the top spot went to Waymo in the U.S., followed by Baidu in China.
Global autonomous driving technology is categorized into six levels, from Level 0 to Level 5, based on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards. Most companies offer Level 2 technology, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
In 2024, Mercedes-Benz began selling vehicles equipped with Level 3 technology in the U.S., marking a step toward commercialization. Recently, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers such as Zeekr have also begun unveiling Level 3 technologies.
Hyundai Motor Group had initially planned to launch Level 3 commercialized vehicles by 2023. However, the timeline has seen repeated delays, culminating in today’s announcement of plans to implement Level 2+ technology by the end of 2027. The Level 2+ standard is comparable to Tesla’s AI-driven Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, where the vehicle can operate autonomously but still requires driver supervision.
Song Chang Hyeon noted that large-scale learning infrastructure is essential for developing autonomous driving systems. He stated that Hyundai will have 3,500 GPU nodes secured by 2025 and aims to boost efficiency through continuous optimization so that faster learning can be achieved with fewer GPUs.