Far from just making EVs as most other ASEAN countries are aspiring to do, Singapore has already gone one step further by producing fully autonomous Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV robotaxis for export at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS).

The first production-ready Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV robotaxis – built at HMGICS – will soon be deployed for active commercial service in the US, starting in 2024.

These Ioniq 5 robotaxis are amongst the first fully autonomous SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles to be certified under the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. They will be deployed through Motional’s (a US-based Hyundai JV company with Aptiv) commercial services in the US.

Doing away with traditional conveyer-type automobile production, HMGICS adopts game-changing cell-based manufacturing to achieve unsurpassed standards of design flexibility, whilst integrating greater collaboration between people, robotics, IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

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Thus with a relatively small footprint; the seven-story, 86,900-square-meter HMGICS facility – dubbed an urban mobility hub – can manufacture up to 30,000 EVs per annum with great precision

Operational since early 2023, HMGICS already produces Ioniq 5 and the fully autonomous Ioniq 5 robotaxi and will add the Ioniq 6 to its portfolio of models built on-site next year. The facility will also serve as a testbed for developing future mobility solutions — including Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs) — thanks to its advanced manufacturing capability.

Also read: Hyundai says Singapore Innovation Centre a cornerstone for new gen manufacturing

Approximately 50 percent of all tasks are carried out by 200 robots, with humans, robotics and AI systems integrating on a digital twin platform. 

Courtesy of increased automation, only one human worker and one robot are required to execute tasks in each cell. 

Operating as a digital twin Meta-Factory, HMGICS synchronizes the virtual and physical worlds in real-time. This enables humans and robots to cooperate in ways not seen before.

Employees can simulate tasks in the digital virtual space — or metaverse — while robots physically move components on the production line.

Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair adds, “HMGICS is an open and connected urban innovation hub that encourages and embraces creativity and collaboration. It seeks to completely redefine the very concept of manufacturing.”

The initial fleet of Ioniq 5 robotaxis recently completed a series of evaluations designed to demonstrate the quality, performance, and maturity of the robotaxi and autonomous driving technology.

Commercial production of the Ioniq 5 robotaxi is underway, and the first models have already arrived at Motional's facility in the U.S. The vehicles are undergoing Motional's rigorous testing and safety validation processes before beginning commercial service in 2024.