Founded in 1967, over the course of 30 years, the Hyundai Motor Company achieved global success due to its uncanny ability to analyze local markets and, using those insights, deliver vehicles that aligned with that region’s unique needs. 

In Europe, for example, where the roads tend to be more narrow, Hyundai primarily sold compact cars and, to stand out against the local competition, offered much longer guarantees. Though not the most well made car, the Pony was the most popular passenger vehicle in Canada from 1984-1985. In the 90’s, as it made its way into the U.S. market, they rebranded themselves as a producer of cars that were not only highly affordable, but safe and high quality as well. 

This constant, data-fueled innovation continues to this day. The next stage in its evolution: establishing itself as a leader in electronic vehicles, autonomous driving, next generation mobility and connected vehicles. At the center of all of this reinvention: data. 

The end goal? As explained on the Hyundai website, “To embark on a new era of connecting the ‘Car to Life’, as cars are increasingly at the center of our lifestyles. This initiative will provide users with a hub of infinite knowledge, plus the ability to analyze and utilize all information to enhance owner’s lives. The ‘Hyper-connected and Intelligent Car’ goes beyond converging communications technology and the vehicle to become a ‘High-Performing Computer on Wheels’.” 

In other words, the next generation of buyers want smarter, more environmentally friendly vehicles and that’s what Hyundai plans to give them. Like GM, BMW and most other major car companies, it is also looking to evolve from an automaker into a mobility solutions provider. 

In 2016, Hyuandai released its Roadmap For Connected Car Development. Central to this roadmap was a complete reimagining of how data is managed and used. To start, they would need to develop in-vehicle networks for high-speed transfer of large amounts of data. Secondly, they would need to leverage secure, cutting-edge cloud technology to collect vehicle data and provide computing power. Third, they would need to develop a new, cutting-edge set of advanced analytics. 

Though Hyundai is not quite there yet, here is a look at some of the progress the company has made. 

The Intelligent Driver Experience

In an effort to increase driver safety while minimizing the environmental impact of driving, Hyundai partnered with Wejo, a connected car data solution provider, to “create innovative driver-focused services for Hyundai owners, such as on-demand parking, EV charging, and fleet management.”

NVIDIA Drive

Starting this year, the entire lineup of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis models will come standard with NVIDIA DRIVE™ in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. In addition to powering the audio, video, navigation, connectivity and AI-enhanced connected car service features contained in Hyundai’s vehicles, the system is perpetually updateable.

This new, cutting-edge IVI system will play a central role in supporting Hyundai’s new connected car operating system (ccOS). Developed in-house by Hyundai Motor Group, the new ccOS will help the carmaker achieve 4 of its key goals:

• ‘High-performance computing’, using NVIDIA GPUs to process large amounts of data inside and outside the vehicles and optimize system performance to support advanced IT technologies, such as deep learning.
• ‘Seamless computing’, which provides uninterrupted service regardless of the vehicle’s online or offline state. The vehicle connects with the surrounding infrastructure and smart devices to bring the user experience from external devices into the vehicle environment.
• ‘Intelligent computing’, providing intelligent customized services by properly identifying the driver’s intentions and condition.
• ‘Secure computing’, protecting the system by monitoring in-vehicle and external networks and isolating data associated with vehicle safety.

Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) 

Following in the footsteps of Tesla and GM, Hyundai Motor America plans to launch a usage-based insurance (UBI) program via the Verisk Data Exchange. The pinnacle of data monetization, UBI programs integrate individual driving behavior data into the calculation of insurance premiums, which results in discounts for safe driving.

Integrated Data Platform for Mobility Services

In November 2021, Hyundai announced its intention to build an integrated data platform for mobility services. As Song Chang-hyun, the head of Hyundai's Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) division, explained at an online developer conference hosted by the automaker,

"Connected data is the basis of a platform. We plan to build a 'data lake' that utilizes data collected in real time from urban air mobility (UAM) and purpose-based cars (PBV), as well as passenger cars.”

Putting Data Privacy in the Hands of Drivers

Last but not least, all of this innovation begs the question, “what about data privacy?”. To address this concern, the car maker created a new “My Data and Privacy” page at MyHyundai.com that not only explains how data from their connected car can be collected, used and shared, but allows them to control how it is used.

As Michael Stewart, senior group manager, corporate and marketing public relations at HMA, explained to PYMNTS, “Through our Privacy at a Glance page, we are embracing CyLab’s insights by presenting layered disclosures. For example, the primary layer on the Privacy at a Glance conveys to consumers important information about the types of data collected, who it is shared with, how it is used, when it is collected, and the choices consumers have. They can click on links to obtain more detailed information.”

Become an AI Data Analytics NETWORK member today!

Premium content. Expert insight. Instant access. All for FREE.