Hyundai steps out with robotaxi, self-driving commercial car

Korea-based automaker, Hyundai Motor Company, has introduced a new model, robotaxi, a commercial vehicle that will be used as a fully driverless ride-hailing taxi from 2023.

Hyundai Motor Company’s Robotics LAB says the new models will reduce traffic and make a safer and greener driving experience, to eventually improve the quality of life for everyone.

The robotaxi is the result of a partnership between Hyundai and Boston-based driverless tech company Motional.

It is said to be coming with more than 30 sensors – including cameras, radars and lidar.

“After years of experience, our effort comes with surprises of what technology can provide for us,” it states in a statement from its Nigeria’s representative, Stallion Autos.

Hyoung Jung Im, Head of Hyundai Motor Company Middle East and Africa, is quoted as saying the transformation in the future of mobility can only be achieved by the constant search for ways to quicken our vision of ‘progress for humanity’. With leading the new wave of autonomous technologies, we aim to devote our attention to developing the future of robotics and continue on our long journey.

“When we partnered with motional, the global leader in autonomous technologies and a developer of AVs, we aspired to expand the possibilities of combining our smart mobility solutions with motional’s innovative technologies in autonomous driving and robotics.

“The merged effort has resulted in the birth of the IONIQ 5 robotaxi, as the model for a safe, reliable, and accessible mobility solution that can transform our expectations of the future of smart mobility technologies,” it states.

The project, according to the automaker, aims “to achieve our next step in the concept of smart cities, by the mass production and commercialization of the IONIQ 5 robotaxi on a global scale.”

It also notes that the fast growth in smart city infrastructure is opening new opportunities to reduce traffic and make a safer and greener driving experience, to eventually improve the quality of life for everyone.

“As we observe the shift towards sustainable smart cities, we stand to commend the development that cities like Abu Dhabi and Dubai are taking on, as being ranked as the smartest cities in the MENA region according to the ‘Smart City Index 2021’,” Hyundai says.