√Audi and Hyundai autonomous car projects hit a speed bump

A pair of autonomous car projects – funded by Audi and Hyundai – are being scaled back or scrapped, according to overseas reports.

German car giant Audi and South Korean brand Hyundai are reportedly scaling back or cancelling their respective autonomous vehicle projects – months after Volkswagen and Ford lost billions in their attempts to develop advanced driver assistance systems.

In October 2022, Volkswagen and Ford-backed US autonomous driving start-up Argo AI was shut down after failing to achieve its target of launching fully autonomous cars by 2021.

Ford subsequently blamed a large portion of its $US2.7 billion ($AU4 billion) non-cash, pre-tax impairment on the failure of Argo AI, forcing Ford CEO Jim Farley to concede widespread adoption of autonomous vehicle technology is “a long way off.”

Automotive News Europe has now reported the Volkswagen Group is expected to scrap Audi’s autonomous car project – known as Artemis.

Announced in 2020 with plans to launch in 2024, Automotive News Europe reported Audi’s Artemis project involved the development of a ‘Level 4’ autonomous car – equipped with systems which need no human intervention outside of specific circumstances.

In Australia, ‘Level 2’ autonomous systems are the most advanced approved for local roads, consisting of technology such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and autonomous emergency braking.

As reported in December 2020, the autonomous driving technology developed by Audi’s Artemis division was intended to be used in cars from the wider Volkswagen Group, including Bentley and Porsche.

However, cracks appeared in the project in July this year when Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said the company’s Artemis-based electric car had been pushed back by one year. It is now scheduled to be revealed in 2026, pending any further delays.

Automotive News Europe claims Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume will axe Artemis later this month, instead focusing the company’s efforts on further development of its 1.1 and 1.2 software platforms – the latter of which is being created for Audi and Porsche.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 ‘robotaxi’, developed by Motional

Meanwhile, US autonomous car company Motional – a joint venture between South Korean car-maker Hyundai and Irish tech supplier Aptiv – is reportedly laying off workers, according to technology publication TechCrunch.

The publication reported Motional has started to lay off a portion of its 1500 employees, although the autonomous car company did not state how many staff had lost their jobs across its US, South Korea and Singapore offices.

In May 2022, Hyundai announced Motional would apply its autonomous technology to the Ioniq 5 electric car, rolling out the Level 4 vehicles as ‘robotaxis’ in Las Vegas from 2023.

Motional has agreed to supply ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft with its autonomous cars, although it is now not clear whether it will be able to deliver its product.

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