Press Startups that opened in the pay era for autonomous driving... Targeting the PBV market with parts companies
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작성자 Autonomous a2z 조회 1,120 작성일 2021-11-03본문
한지형 오토노머스에이투지(a2z) 대표/ 사진=고석용 기자
There is no need for the driver to put their hands on the steering wheel once a minute or look ahead. There is an autonomous shuttle bus that moves completely autonomously according to the input route. It's not about the test cars of major automobile companies, nor the research cars of universities. Anyone can call and pay via the Kakao T app. It is about paid autonomous driving mobility operated by startup Autonomous a2z (a2z) in Sejong City.
a2z has been conducting transportation through self-driving vehicles in Sejong City since December of last year. In accordance with the current law, it is a modified form of a passenger car and a person rides in the driver's seat, but does not intervene in driving. From April to June this year, a pilot project was conducted in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province. It is the first and currently the only self-driving commercial service in Korea. a2z plans to launch the service in Daegu Metropolitan City at the end of this year.
In an interview with Money Today, a2z CEO Han Ji-hyeong said, "It is symbolic to provide a paid transportation service with an autonomous vehicle. He also emphasized, "This is the perfect demonstration of autonomous driving technology."
Founding of Hyundai Motor Researchers... After half a year, let's get an autonomous driving license, love calls from various places
It is thanks to the background of the founding members, including CEO Han, that a start-up in its third year of establishment, neither Hyundai Motor nor Tesla, was able to achieve results in a short period of time. All four founding members, including CEO Han, have been working at Hyundai Motor’s autonomous driving research center for over 10 years and have accumulated relevant technical know-how before the establishment. Meanwhile, while serving as a professor at Kyungil University, CEO Han received support from the campus startup program.
CEO Han said, "I was able
to achieve results within a short period of time because I had already acquired
technical know-how from a large company. I'm confident it'll be great," he
said.
However, the business process was not smooth. CEO
Han said, "In the early days of the founding, all the founding members
suffered from all kinds of ailments, from herniated discs to hemorrhoids,
during development." a2z began to attract attention in December 2018.
After six months of establishment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and
Transport succeeded in obtaining an autonomous driving license. At that time,
only 100 licenses were issued.
CEO Han said, "Startups, not large corporations or universities, got attention as they obtained licenses in a short period of time, and since then, word of mouth has spread and I have joined the R&D consortium of the government or large corporations." At that time, KT, paying attention to technology, proposed to participate in 5G (5th generation mobile communication) smart city R&D, and a2z's full-fledged autonomous driving business began.
● Do not compete with Hyundai and Tesla...Attack the market with special purpose vehicles such as buses and cleaning cars
The autonomous driving mobility market that a2z is targeting is different from the market targeted by automakers such as Hyundai and Tesla. CEO Han compared it to a market that is different from global conglomerates just as there are separate manufacturers of commercial vehicles and agricultural machinery. If automakers are developing autonomous driving cars with a long development period, a2z aims to develop autonomous driving special-purpose vehicles (PBVs) that move only along a set course like the autonomous driving service implemented by Sejong and settle into the market within a short time. to be. Typical examples are village buses, cleaning trucks, and delivery vehicles. The government and local governments that are already promoting smart cities are requesting a2z to demonstrate autonomous driving for special purpose vehicles. In this way, a2z received a total of 24 billion won in government R&D orders. As a demonstration project of a large corporation promoting smart city, it generated 5 billion won in sales this year alone.
In 2027, the company plans to manufacture special-purpose vehicles rather than remodeling mass-produced vehicles. To this end, it also attracted 16 billion won Series A investment in September. In October, it also signed an agreement for vehicle platform development and mass production with major auto parts companies such as SL, Sambo Motors, Pyeonghwa Valeo, THN, and Rae AMS. a2z plans to mass-produce pilot vehicles with autonomous driving level 4 level with them by 2025.
CEO Han said, "Autonomous driving special-purpose vehicles are produced in small quantities after being converted into various forms, so it is difficult for large companies to access them easily. Overseas, startups also lead the market," he said. Each country is taking the initiative in fostering service technologies such as fintech for He also emphasized, "If there is a path that Korea should take, a2z will take the lead."