Hyundai has recently made a significant investment of nearly $1 billion in developing self-driving technology through the autonomous driving startup Motional. This decision was made in order to actively develop autonomous driving technology and internalize core technology, according to the South Korean automaker. In March 2020, Hyundai, along with Irish-American automotive technology company Aptiv, established Motional. The automaker plans to spend $487,889,235 in capital increase and an additional $456,246,344 to acquire 11% of Aptiv’s share in Motional, increasing its total share to 66.8%.
The additional investment from Hyundai is expected to enhance Motional’s technological competitiveness by setting the direction for technology development and building a foundation for expanding synergy within Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving units. However, in January 2024, Aptiv announced that it would cease allocating capital to Motional and seek ways to reduce its ownership share due to the startup’s significant operating losses over the past three years, totaling $1,471,530,400 according to reports from Hyundai Motor Group’s affiliates.
In March 2021