Auto giants Hyundai Motor Group and Kia have announced a new strategic technology partnership with Samsung Electronics to help them transition to the future of Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs).
Speaking to TechRadar at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, Chang Song, president and head of Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division, explained how Hyundai and Kia were rapidly moving into the era of SDVs , where constantly connected cars could do more than transport occupants from A to B, offering on-demand services, the ability to interact with partner apps and smart home controls.
The recent partnership with Samsung reinforces this idea and will further integrate Samsung’s SmartThings IoT platform with a future infotainment system that Chang Song’s department is developing.
This also means that Samsung’s popular Galaxy smartphones will enjoy greater integration with future cars, allowing users to check important vehicle data such as battery range, upcoming service intervals and even the location of their vehicles, through their phones.
In addition, Hyundai Motor Group also wants the vehicle to fit seamlessly into everyday life, with the ability for one Samsung Electronics account to manage everything, including healthcare, pet care and vehicle systems, in one convenient place.
Chang Song is also one of the founders of 42dot, an innovative autonomous transportation company that is now part of the broader Hyundai Motor Group.
His vision is to create a seamless mobility system where one app or piece of software takes care of private cars, as well as the ability to summon autonomous ride-share services and possibly electronic vertical take-off and landing craft (eVTOL). such as those currently being developed by sister company Supernal.
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The partnership with Samsung demonstrates Hyundai Motor and Kia’s commitment to a future where the car as we know it becomes more part of our digital lives than just a means of transportation.
Chang Song spoke of his plan to invite third-party developers to create “killer apps” for his future systems, which would essentially do what Internet Explorer did for Microsoft computers in the 1990s, when customers flocked to the hardware purely to take advantage of the software.
Software-defined vehicles – and to some extent electric vehicles – are putting the auto industry on a path towards cars becoming a commodity, with customers treating their vehicles like smartphones, chopping and changing depending on who offers the best digital experience.
The private ownership model as we know it today is likely to change as technological advances allow companies like Hyundai and Kia to become transportation service providers rather than mere car manufacturers.
Song’s influence on software development, as well as Samsung’s recent integration, will bring more of the wider digital world into the car. Checking into smart refrigerators, activating lights remotely and being able to locate a vehicle via a Galaxy phone is just the beginning.
