The Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have announced a new, strategic technology partnership with Samsung Electronics to enhance the integration between SDVs and smartphones, aiming to secure a leading position in the mobility service ecosystem.
A signing ceremony for the partnership was held at the Samsung Electronics Seoul R&D Campus, with attendees including Chang Song, President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group Advanced Vehicle Platform Division; Haeyoung Kwon, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group Infotainment Development Center; Paul (Kyungwhoon) Cheun, President and Chief Technology Officer of Device eXperience Division at Samsung Electronics and Head of Samsung Research; and Jinhee Choi, Senior Executive Vice President of 42dot.
As the focus of their work shifts towards the SDV, the Hyundai Motor Group brands are working on a next-generation infotainment system (itself set to be revealed in 2026) and open mobility ecosystem alongside 42dot – the Group’s global software center. Through the development of both, the brands are looking to provide a user-centric vehicle that will enhance the connectivity of the forthcoming infotainment system.
Therefore, through the agreement, Hyundai Motor and Kia will develop technology designed to organically link SDVs to smartphones using Samsung Electronics’ ‘SmartThings’ technology. By integrating its new vehicles with Samsung’s proprietary Internet of Things platform, the brands aim to provide enriched mobility experiences, connecting the full process of vehicle use to smartphones and accelerating the transition to true SDVs.
This strengthened connectivity will pave the way for Hyundai Motor, Kia and Samsung Electronics to jointly introduce a for vehicle location verification that will be expanded and advanced through integration with ‘SmartThings Find’ – offering a global vehicle location tracking service. The service itself will be accessible through a crowdsourced network of Samsung Galaxy devices that use the Bluetooth Low Energy technology to report their location, without restrictions related to cellular coverage. Through it, customers will be able to check their vehicle’s location using Hyundai and Kia’s Connected Car Service app in case they forgot where they parked, or if their vehicle was stolen. The brands highlighted that even if their vehicles are not register with the app, they will still be able to check the location using the SmartThings app.
The synchronicity of these services is a focus of the partnership, with Hyundai and Kia also looking to simplify the new member registration process by linking its user accounts with Samsung Electronics. In the future, the brands will look to provide services optimized for customers’ lifestyles and tastes, such as healthcare, pet care and vehicle interiors, and while cooperating further with Samsung Electronics to provide new mobility experiences.
Together, with 42dot, the brands will continuously introduce new services focused on connecting vehicles with smartphones, and enabling more user-centered daily experiences. They also plan to continuously develop services for convenient and enjoyable mobility experiences by sharing vehicle data APIs and software development kits (SDKs) with various business partners, including Samsung Electronics, through their next-generation infotainment system based on an open ecosystem.
To support the emerging SDV ecosystem more broadly, Hyundai Motor and Kia also announced a ‘2025 Developer Conference’ event set to take place in the first half of next years, and plans to build a dedicated SDK for external developers to participate and develop innovative SDV-focused vehicle apps, as well as a vehicle app market for SDVs.
