Hyundai Invests Nearly $1 Billion in Self-Driving Startup Motional
Hyundai has made a significant investment in the self-driving startup Motional, agreeing to spend nearly $1 billion to acquire a majority stake in the company. This investment will provide Motional with the necessary capital to continue operating and developing its autonomous vehicle technology.
As part of the deal, Hyundai invested $475 million directly into Motional and will spend an additional $448 million to buy 11% of Aptiv’s common equity interest in the company. This move will give Hyundai an 85% control of Motional, with Aptiv reducing its ownership interest from 50% to about 15%.
The investment comes at a crucial time for Motional as it works towards commercializing its robotaxi business. The company has been testing its autonomous vehicles in several cities, including Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Singapore. Motional’s go-to-market strategy involves partnering with ride-hail platforms like Uber, Lyft, and Via to offer customers autonomous rides.
Motional has set ambitious goals for the future, including launching a robotaxi service using driverless Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles in 2024. The company also announced plans to co-develop production-ready versions of the all-electric Ioniq 5 robotaxi with Hyundai and work with Kia on a next-generation vehicle for commercial operations.
The investment from Hyundai will help Motional continue its development and testing efforts as it works towards bringing autonomous vehicles to market. With the self-driving industry facing uncertainty and competition from companies like Waymo and GM’s Cruise, Motional’s partnership with Hyundai could give them a competitive edge in the evolving market.