President Moon Jae-in waves from one of Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen-fueled self-driving Nexo cars before a test drive at the northern tip of the Seoul-Busan expressway, in Seoul on Feb. 2.

By Sohn JiAe

Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

On Feb. 2 President Moon Jae-in test-drove a Nexo hydrogen-powered self-driving car developed by Hyundai Motor. The new-generation vehicle is estimated to have a driving range of 600 km on a single charge and has the ability to keep its distance from cars in front of and next to it, as well as to change lanes on its own. 

The test drive covered about 7 km from the northern tip of the Seoul-Busan Expressway in Seocho-gu District, Seoul, through to the Pangyo Expressway in Gyeonggi-do Province. 

After the ride, President Moon said that, “I realize today that the nation has already reached a significant level in terms of technologies with fuel-cell-powered autonomous vehicles. The nation is the power house not only of traditional cars, but also in terms of mobile communications and batteries, both necessary for developing cutting-edge vehicles. In this sense, I believe that the country has a competitive edge in the vehicle industry.” 

The president went on to stress the positive “economic effects” and the reduction of air pollution that such electric, hydrogen-powered and self-driving cars might bring about. He vowed that his government would open “the era of 3 million electric vehicles and, also, autonomous vehicles on the streets across the nation by 2030.”

Mentioning Hyundai’s first-ever vehicle, the Pony that came out in 1975, President Moon said that, “As Korea has become the world’s best car-manufacturing economy in such a short period of time, starting with this car, let’s show our strength, again, in the future of the car industry.” 

President Moon Jae-in listens as Director Lee Jin-woo at the Hyundai Motor Intelligent Safety Technology Center explains the self-driving Nexo, before a test drive in Seocho-gu District, Seoul, on Feb. 2.

The vehicle manufacturer has seven self-driving vehicles that will be used at the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that kick off on Feb. 9. The cars will be in operation for visitors to test-ride near the Olympic venues and to carry travelers from Incheon International Airport. 

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