Hyundai's advanced vehicle chief to resign amid slow progress in autonomous tech
Seoul, Dec 4
Song Chang-hyeon, head of Hyundai Motor Group's Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) division and chief executive officer (CEO) of the group's software research arm 42dot, has tendered his resignation amid a lack of progress in next-generation vehicle technologies, industry sources said on Thursday.
In a message sent to 42dot employees, Song said he would step down from both positions following a meeting with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, according to the sources, reports Yonhap news agency.
Song appears to be taking responsibility for the group's limited progress in autonomous driving technologies, as Hyundai Motor Group has been viewed as falling short of expectations compared with rivals despite significant investment in the AVP division.
"We have been preparing for the future automobile market, where only software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and autonomous driving technologies will remain after global automakers have spent tens of trillions of won only to fall short," Song said in the message.
Hyundai Motor Group appears to be lagging behind rivals, including Tesla Inc., which has been strengthening its presence in South Korea by adopting its supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. Other global carmakers, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, have already incorporated Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities into their production models.
The group aims to introduce Level 2+ self-driving features to its vehicles by 2027.
Embedding software DNA into a massive hardware-centric industry and attempting to build an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered device rather than a traditional car had been a highly challenging task, he added.
Song, who served as Naver Corp.'s chief technology officer (CTO) in 2015, left the company in January 2019 to found mobility AI startup 42dot. After Hyundai Motor Group acquired the company in 2022, he led the group's SDV division before taking charge of the AVP unit early last year.
The group is expected to reshape its leadership in future mobility technologies through upcoming executive reshuffles, which are anticipated in the next few weeks.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Honestly, autonomous driving in Indian traffic conditions feels like a far-off dream. Our roads are a different beast altogether. Maybe the investment should first go into making ADAS work perfectly here before aiming for Level 3. Priorities matter.
Respect to Song Chang-hyeon for taking responsibility. That's a good leadership quality. But shifting from hardware to software is a massive challenge for any legacy automaker. Tesla started as a tech company. Hope Hyundai's next leader can bridge that gap faster.
As someone who drives a Hyundai in Bangalore traffic, I'm more concerned about better fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs than full self-driving. These tech races are important, but shouldn't make cars prohibitively expensive for the average buyer.
Level 2+ by 2027? That seems quite late. By then, Tesla and others will be much further ahead. Hyundai needs to accelerate. Indian companies like Tata and Mahindra are also investing in EV tech; we can't rely solely on foreign brands to bring delayed tech here.
It's not just about the tech, it's about building trust. Will an autonomous car handle a sudden cow on the NH48 or a swarm of two-wheelers? The software needs Indian data and Indian thinking. Maybe they should set up a major R&D center here to crack this.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.