Hyundai Motor Co. is expanding curated services online and offline, enabling software upgrades, rentals and battery lease to subscribed customers.

The carmaker will add remote upgrade service in integrated controller that features sensor fusion technology to integrate and process information collected from various sensors such as cameras and radars. This is a core part of highway driving assist (HAD) systems and autonomous driving. The company aims to introduce the service in the second half of the year.

Hyundai Motor’s first-generation integrated controller was introduced in 2017, and the second-generation system will be added with high-performance processors and advanced technologies such as Level 3 self-driving technology, self-parking functions and deep learning-based image recognition technology, explained the company.

Key to the software update of the in-vehicle integrated controller is over-the-air (OTA) technology, a wireless solution that will ensure automatic, regular updates of a device without visiting a maintenance shop.

OTA software update of in-vehicle controller is illegal in Korea but Hyundai Motor can offer the service now under the regulatory sandbox case. Hyundai Motor aiming to offer Level 3 autonomous vehicles from next year now is going all out to test out the new function.

With the addition of controller OTA update, Hyundai Motor is expanding subscription-based service offers, in which customers pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service.

Hyundai Motor will start electric vehicle battery leasing program as well, joining forces to lower the prices of EVs and accelerate phase-out from traditional fuel with the government and supply chain.

A test service for electric taxis and trucks will also kick off this year. Hyundai Motor will supervise the entire project and sell Kona EV vehicles to taxi platform operator KST Mobility, which will sell the battery ownership of the vehicles to Hyundai Glovis. KST Mobility will then pay the monthly leasing fees to Hyundai Glovis, which will manage the battery leasing and sell used batteries to LG Energy Solution for analysis of safety and residual value.

Through the process, KST Mobility is able to save the cost for batteries, which take up the bulk of an EV value. Used batteries will then go to produce energy storage systems (ESSs) to be employed in rapid charging facilities for EVs of KST Mobility.

The company is also running car leasing programs.

By Seo Jin-woo and Lee Ha-yeon

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