Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, an eco-conscious technology company, are coming together to form an autonomous driving joint venture. As part of the program, both groups will design, develop, and commercialize SAE Level 4 and 5 self-driving technology. Beginning in 2020, the joint venture will start testing fully driverless cars, and by 2022, the venture aims to have a production-ready self-driving platform available for robotaxi providers, fleet operators, and vehicle manufacturers.

Both Aptiv and Hyundai will split ownership of the joint venture 50/50, which is valued at a total of $4bn. Aptiv says the company will be assigning 700 employees to the joint venture, along with contributing autonomous driving technology and intellectual property. Hyundai Motor Group – which includes Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis – will be adding $1.6bn in cash at closing, and an additional $0.4bn in vehicle engineering services, R&D resources, and intellectual property.

“This partnership further strengthens Aptiv’s industry-leading capabilities in the development of advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle connectivity solutions, and Smart Vehicle Architecture,” said Kevin Clark, president and chief executive officer, Aptiv. “Hyundai Motor Group’s cutting-edge engineering and R&D capabilities make them our partner of choice to advance the development of a production-ready autonomous platform.”

“The new joint venture marks the start of a journey with Aptiv toward our common goal of commercializing autonomous driving,” said Euisun Chung, executive vice chairman, Hyundai Motor Group. “The combined capabilities of Aptiv, a leading global technology company, and our Group, a global OEM, will create invaluable synergy to lead the autonomous driving landscape.”