South Korea is set to expand its autonomous mobility efforts as Hyundai Motor and Kia announced plans to begin self-driving vehicle trials in Gwangju during the second half of 2026.
The pilot project is backed by South Korea’s transport ministry and the Gwangju city government. The initial testing phase will cover selected areas in Gwangsan-gu, Buk-gu and Seo-gu before expanding to all 5 districts of Gwangju in 2027.
The automakers plan to deploy more than 200 autonomous vehicles built on existing car models. According to the companies, the vehicles will be equipped with 8 cameras and 1 radar system to support self-driving operations.
The pilot will also use Hyundai and Kia’s Shucle mobility platform along with Atria AI software to manage autonomous driving functions and operations during the trial period.
Autonomous driving startups Autonomous A2Z and RideFlux will handle technical verification using the test vehicles and operating platform.
Meanwhile, Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance will work on accident response systems and insurance products related to autonomous driving technology.
The Korea Transportation Safety Authority will review and evaluate the trial results as part of the project oversight.
The initiative reflects growing efforts by South Korean companies and authorities to accelerate the development and real-world testing of autonomous transportation technologies.
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