SEOUL, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Group will launch vehicles equipped with its proprietary driver-assistance software in late 2029, two years later than planned, turning to Nvidia in the interim to accelerate deployment.
The South Korean automaker will partner with the U.S. chipmaker to roll out advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), known as Level 2+ and Level 2++, in 2028, a Hyundai executive said.
The shift underscores the challenges Hyundai faces in developing automated driving software in-house, a project originally slated for a late-2027 debut, while raising concerns over its deepening reliance on Nvidia.
The delay has fuelled worries that the automaker could fall further behind Tesla and Chinese rivals in the race to commercialise vehicle autonomy.
"Our partnership with Nvidia is not about leaving our destiny entirely in their hands," Park Min-woo, a president at Hyundai Motor Group, told a media briefing.
Park said Hyundai will co-design the technology with Nvidia and use the data from the system to train and refine its own software platform, dubbed Atria.
Park, a former Nvidia executive who joined Hyundai in January, has spearheaded the automaker's deepening ties with the chipmaker. His strategy marks a shift from that of his predecessor, Song Chang-hyeon, who focused heavily on internal software development before his abrupt departure in December.
Hyundai vehicles powered by Nvidia's Hyperion 10 platform will initially bypass expensive lidar sensors in favour of cameras, ultrasonic sensors and a radar, Park said.
However, Hyundai is considering lidar for its Level 3 automated systems, which allow hands-off driving under specific conditions.
"To truly ensure safety, we believe sensor redundancy is critical: if one sensor fails, others must be able to maintain safe operation," Park said, without providing a timeline for Level 3 commercialisation.
Hyundai and affiliate Kia Corp, which together rank as the world's third-largest automaker with annual sales exceeding 7 million vehicles, plan to use their global fleet scale to harvest data to train their autonomous driving technology, Park said. Hyundai said it expects to surpass competitors in accumulated driving data by 2033.
Hyundai Motor Group is deepening collaboration with Nvidia spanning autonomous driving, artificial intelligence data centers and humanoid robots developed by Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics.
"Level 2+" generally refers to more capable driver-assistance systems that work on highways, while "Level 2++" systems can handle more complex urban driving, similar to Tesla's Full Self-Driving system. Both still require driver supervision.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
