Hyundai Motor on March 28 plans to unveil its new Pleos software-defined vehicle brand that will provide tech and software for an array of future mobility solutions.
Hyundai — currently exploring ways to collaborate with General Motors in areas of SDVs, platform sharing, vehicle partnerships and EV and battery innovation — is using the event to show its new platform, AI applications and ADAS capabilities. Designed to connect and integrate data, the brand will open the door for collaboration. Indeed, Hyundai says Pleos will host a developer conference to lasso new ideas for Pleos.
Pleos is closely tied with Hyundai’s Plug & Drive (PnD) modular platform, which combines robotic platforms with AI and autonomous driving. These modules allow for autonomous delivery pods, personal-mobility units and smart logistics bots, all of which can plug into a common base and adapt to different purposes.
Pleos will be applied to Hyundai Group units Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, as well as to transforming urban infrastructure. Hyundai envisions cities using Pleos-based units for last-mile delivery, elderly or disabled transport and other similar applications.
“Hyundai is wisely establishing a dedicated unit for software that operates independently from the core business's processes, performance criteria and return expectations,” says Maite Bezerra, SDV analyst with WardsIntelligence. “However, to avoid the pitfalls experienced by other OEMs — such as Volkswagen’s missteps with Cariad — Pleos must have the freedom to develop its own strategies, processes, metrics and business models.
“More than the technology that Hyundai will announce for Pleos in the coming days, I will be looking for signs that this new organization will have the autonomy to define its own path without being constrained by start-of-production (SoP) timelines or the traditional practices and metrics of its parent company,” says Bezerra.
Pleos is not just about making vehicles; it’s about building mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) ecosystems. This shift means Hyundai is moving from a traditional car manufacturer to a mobility-solutions provider, similar to what Toyota is doing with Woven City or what Tesla hints at with its future autonomy plans.
