In the debate on who will own cars, Hyundai picks Uber, Grab

Seoul: As Google’s Waymo, General Motors Co. and others race to bring driverless automobiles to showrooms, the argument over who will buy cars in the technology era is getting louder.

Hyundai Motor Co., a latecomer to electrification and autonomous driving, is betting against individuals owning robot cars and preparing for a future in which the biggest buyers will be ride-sharing giants such as Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and GrabTaxi Holdings Pte. The South Korean automaker said last month it invested in Singapore-based Grab, Southeast Asia’s biggest cab-hailing service.

“The trend is now changing,” Woongjoon Jang, director of Hyundai’s Advanced Driver Assistance System Development Group, told Stephen Engle in a Bloomberg Television interview on 8 February. “In the past, people liked to own their cars. In the near future, I think the owner of the self-driving market will be mobility-service providers.”

Hyundai Motor India Ltd.