"Now Is the 'Manhattan Moment' for Autonomous Driving"...Hyundai Motor Company Moves to Build a Data Flywheel

[Financial News] Hyundai Motor Company said the global autonomous driving market has entered a mature stage and that it will build a differentiated Data Flywheel.
Lee Kyung-min, executive vice president at Hyundai Motor Company's Autonomous Driving Development Center, said this in a keynote speech at the 2026 Autonomous Driving Mobility Industry Expo held on the 26th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Lee said that among new cars launched in China, 12 out of 20 are equipped with at least basic Level 2 autonomous driving, while 3 out of 20 have the more advanced Level 2++ system. "We see this moment as the 'Manhattan Moment' for autonomous driving," he said. Just as the Manhattan Project, the U.S. nuclear weapons program during World War II, changed the course of the war, autonomous driving technology has also reached a turning point where it is mature enough to reshape the automotive market.
He explained that "whether it is an End-to-End Model or a Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model, the methodology has largely been settled, and now it is just a matter of delivering the service." He added that the market is now ready for customers to experience autonomous driving and verify its performance.
He then stressed that to secure global leadership, the company must build a differentiated Data Flywheel. A data flywheel refers to a virtuous cycle in which data generated by users and services is used to improve models and systems, and the improved models and services attract more users, creating even more data.
Lee introduced Hyundai Motor Company's Data Flywheel operating concept, "Follow the Sun," and emphasized that "problems are collected and resolved 24 hours a day." He explained, "We collect data and solve problems during the day in South Korea, and when night falls, we collect and address data in the United States, where the sun is rising at that time." He described it as a Data Flywheel element that leverages Hyundai Motor Company's strengths.
He added that "beyond hardware, the experience people have in a car will become a key differentiator for automakers, and that unique experience will be an important factor in retaining customers." He said Hyundai Motor Company is doing its utmost to build and operate a Data Flywheel that delivers experiences customers need and can trust.

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