Hyundai has successfully completed trial runs in South Korea with the world’s first self-driving fuel cell electric vehicle.
A fleet of modified versions of Hyundai’s hydrogen-fuelled NEXO vehicles — fitted with level 4 autonomous technology — drove 118 miles from Seoul to Pyeongchang entirely in a driverless mode.
The demonstration took place on February 2, and the South Korean manufacturer claims the vehicles successfully kept with the flow of traffic, executed lane changes and overtaking manoeuvres safely and passed through the country’s Hi-Pass toll system with no issues — all while getting up to speeds of 68mph, the country’s highway speed limit.
The Hyundai NEXO is due to go on sale in the manufacturer’s home country next month, although there is no word yet on a worldwide release. It won’t be available at launch with autonomous technology, but the manufacturer’s latest demonstration showcases the potential for it to appear on the model in future. Jinwoo Lee, head of the intelligent Safety Technology Centre at Hyundai Motor Group, said:
“Hyundai’s philosophy for developing autonomous driving technology is to provide the highest level of safety combined with a high standard of convenience that our customers expect.”
