The South Korean Ministry of Industry said yesterday that it has approved 53 projects with budgets of 85 billion won (75 million dollars) this year, in line with efforts to develop fully self-driving cars by 2027.
About 373 organizations and 3,500 experts are expected to join the research projects, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.
The ministry indicated that the budget will be spent on developing parts for self-driving cars, as well as artificial intelligence software.
The announcement comes in line with a previously announced Korean plan to spend 1.09 trillion won by 2027 on related projects, Al German reported.
Under that vision, the country plans to achieve the so-called fourth level of self-driving by 2027, where the driver does not have to hold the wheel.
This comes at a time when Hyundai data showed yesterday that the cumulative sales of EVs in Europe from the two largest automakers in South Korea - Hyundai Motor and Kia - exceeded 200,000 units.
Hyundai and Kia, two subsidiaries of Hyundai Motor Group, have sold 227,919 electric cars in the European car market until last May, since the two companies first started selling electric cars there in 2014. Hyundai's sales of electric cars reached 131,719 units Kia's sales totaled 96,200 units.
Their cumulative sales of electric cars in the European market exceeded 10,000 units in 2017, and exceeded 100,000 units last year.
This year, the two companies together sold 43,865 electric cars in Europe, up to May, up 99.5% a year ago.
The Hyundai Kona electric car was the best-selling model in Europe, with sales of 91,302 units, followed by the Kia Niro electric car with 58,774 units.
The two companies expect to record more electric vehicle sales in Europe, with the launch of new models.
Hyundai launched the all-electronic IONIQ 5 last month, and Kia will start selling the EV6 in the second half of the year. The European market is an important market for Korean electric vehicles. Global electric vehicle sales last year totaled 3.24 million units, with the European market accounting for 40 percent, according to data from market research service EV-Volumes.
Hyundai had previously pledged to supply all-electric cars to major markets, including Europe, the United States and China by 2040. Kia aims to sell 308,000 units in Europe by 2030.
Hyundai and Kia each acquired 20 percent of the IONITY GmbH network of high-power electric vehicle charging stations in Europe, expanding their electric vehicle infrastructure. Share it
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