Motional to supply IONIQ 5-based robo taxis to Uber

▲ This file photo provided by Motional shows the IONIQ 5-based robo taxi. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Motional-Uber-partnership

Motional to supply IONIQ 5-based robo taxis to Uber

SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Motional, a joint venture set up between Hyundai Motor Co. and U.S. mobility startup Aptiv, said Friday it has signed a 10-year deal to supply Hyundai's IONIQ 5-based autonomous vehicles to Uber Technologies Inc.

Under the deal, Motional will supply the all-electric IONIQ 5 driverless robo taxis to the U.S. ride-hailing company from late this year, the company said in a statement.

Uber plans to operate the Level 4 IONIQ 5 robo taxis for car hailing and delivery services in the United States for the next 10 years and explore opportunities to advance to other markets with robo taxis, the statement said.

At Level 4, a vehicle can drive itself under limited conditions and will not operate if all required conditions are not satisfied. At Level 5, a vehicle's automated driving features can drive under any conditions.

In 2020, Hyundai set up the 50:50 joint company with Aptiv in Boston in order to test fully autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing services.

The US$4 billion joint firm is in line with Hyundai Motor Group's investments in overseas startups with advanced future mobility technologies as it seeks to take the lead in next-generation vehicles.

Aptiv is an Ireland-based self-driving technology company and has operations in several countries, including the U.S.

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