Motional: the New Name for the Autonomous Driving Joint Venture of Hyundai and Aptiv

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Source: Motional announcement

BOSTON – The autonomous driving joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV) unveiled today its official name and brand identity: Motional. Launched virtually to its employees around the world, the self-driving pioneer is making driverless vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality.

Formed by Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers offering smart mobility solutions, and Aptiv, one of the industry’s most innovative technology providers, the joint venture was established in March 2020 to advance the development and commercialization of the world’s highest-performing and safest autonomous vehicles.

“Motional, in all of its previous forms, has been leading driverless technology for decades.  Our DNA – a combination of Aptiv’s expertise in advanced technology and Hyundai’s leadership in both vehicle manufacturing and R&D – is uniquely powerful, and positions us to fundamentally change how people move through their lives,” said Karl Iagnemma, President and CEO, Motional.

Related post:
Hyundai, Aptiv Partner on Autonomous Driving

Motional is developing and commercializing SAE Level 4 vehicles – autonomous vehicles that perform all driving tasks. Motional will begin testing fully driverless systems in 2020, and its driverless systems and supporting technology will be available for robotaxi providers and fleet operators in 2022.

The Meaning of Motional

Motional connects two words: motion and emotional. ‘Motion’ speaks to the movement of driverless vehicles enabled by the company’s technology, as well as its decades of experience moving the industry forward. ‘Emotional’ evokes the company’s people-first approach – the focus on safety and reliability that ultimately delivers peace of mind.

Iagnemma added, “We’re leaders in this space. We’ve interacted with more real passengers on real roads than anyone else. Our logo is a bold, strong mark reflective of how we’ll continue to confidently lead this industry and the future of transportation.”

Motional’s Road to Industry Leadership

Motional is led by driverless technology pioneers who participated in the historic DARPA Grand Challenge, and founded nuTonomy and Ottomatika, early leaders in the space.  The Motional team was behind some of the industry’s largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S., the launch of the world’s first robotaxi pilot (Singapore; 2016), and operation of the world’s most-established public robotaxi fleet (Las Vegas; 2018 – present).  That fleet has provided over 100,000 rides, with 98 percent of riders rating their experience five-out-of-five stars.

Motional is based in Boston, with teams in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, Singapore, and Seoul.  The newest office, Seoul, will serve as a key technology hub and testing location.  Motional’s team is expanding quickly.

The entire announcement can be viewed by clicking HERE

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