Hyundai's secret weapon: an AI-powered EV that will launch for Chinese market in 2025

Hyundai has a "secret weapon" that it will be unleashing onto the Chinese EV market next year, where in collaboration with Chinese partner Haomo, Hyundai will release its first Chinese-market-dedicated electric vehicle (EV) that will feature generative AI technology built-in.

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In a new report from the Korea Herald who spoke with a Hyundai Motor official who said: "We are working to load the software of Haomo, a local autonomous driving software firm, onto the EV, which will be released in the Chinese market next year. The level of autonomous driving is somewhere between 2 and 2.5".

The scale of autonomous driving ranges between 0-5, with Level 2 referring to partial driving automation as the vehicle is capable of controlling both the steering, accelerating and decelerating. Tesla's in-house Autopilot falls under the Level 2 autonomous driving, with Level 3 self-driving cars required to detect circumstances and make AI-powered informed decisions for themselves, including accelerating past a slow-moving vehicle, and more. Level 2 and Level 3 both require human override functionality.

• Read more: Apple rumored to team with Hyundai to make its Apple Car in 2024
• Read more: Apple Car delayed until 2028, less ambitious design with downgrade to Level 2+ autonomy

China has been non-stop pushing into the EV industry, with Chinese EV automaker BYD looking to dethrone Tesla as the largest EV maker in the world. According to Autovista24, BYD accounted for 33.8% market share to take out the top spot for the third year in a row in China last year, with Tesla in second place with 7.5% market share.

Hyundai's big push into the Chinese EV market will be felt, especially with the mix of generative AI technology... we'll see how this pans out in 2025 and beyond.