South Korea’s auto conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group and Ireland-based auto parts supplier Aptiv formerly put their joint venture on self-driving platform in motion by christening it Motional.

The two unveiled the new corporate identity Motional on Tuesday (local time) connecting two words of “motion” and “emotional,” which means the movement of driverless vehicles built on its technology and decades of experience and the company’s people-first approach, the focus on safety and reliability.

“Motional represents the next frontier of innovation as the company pioneers a new era of safe, accessible and green transportation,” said Chung Euisun, executive vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group.

“We have a long history of being on the cutting edge of automotive technology and look forward to continuing that legacy with Motional,” he added.

The Boston-based joint-venture, founded in March, recruited talents and technology pioneers who have joined the historic DARPA Grand Challenge and founded startups nuTonomy and Ottomatika.

Motional currently is developing SAE Level 4 autonomous cars that perform all driving tasks with its teams in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, Singapore and Seoul. It is planning to begin testing unmanned systems within the year with hopes to supply solutions to robotaxi and new mobility operators from 2022.

Hyundai Motor shares on Thursday closed 2.03 percent lower at 168,500 won in Seoul.

By Park Yun-gu and Lee Ha-yeon

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