Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) introduced its new mobility software brand ‘Pleos’ at its ‘Pleos 25’ developer conference in Seoul, also unveiling plans for collaboration with global partners to enhance in-vehicle app ecosystems. (Earlier post.)

The inaugural event marked a significant step toward the Group’s evolution into a mobility tech company by sharing the development status of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and revealing plans for creating an in-vehicle app market and ecosystem based on its next-generation infotainment system. During his keynote speech at Pleos 25, Chang Song, President and Head of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division, officially announced Pleos, the Group’s new mobility software brand and technology platform.

In the rapidly changing automotive industry, Hyundai Motor Group has been dedicated to SDV development since 2023. Today, starting with Pleos 25, we are transforming into a company providing software-centered mobility experiences. Our ultimate goal is to achieve Cloud Mobility, where all forms of mobility are connected through software on the cloud, and continuously evolve over time. Pleos serves to create a connected mobility experience expanding from a vehicle to fleets, hardware to software, and ultimately to the entire mobility infrastructure and cities.

—Chang Song

Pleos is a mobility software platform that supports all devices in motion to move autonomously and be managed smartly. It connects transportation and infrastructure, including vehicles, to help users, businesses and cities establish a freer, more efficient mobility environment. Pleos is an end-to-end software platform that integrates:

• High-performance chips and controllers

• Vehicle operating system (vehicle OS)

• Infotainment system (Pleos Connect)

• Cloud infrastructure

• Fleet management

• Mobility and logistics optimization solutions

This technology stack enables a range of smart mobility functions such as autonomous driving, vehicle connectivity, real-time data analysis and optimized route planning—providing a foundation for improving the user experience and maximizing the efficiency of urban mobility operations.

Pleos is a compound word combining the Greek word ‘Pleo’, meaning ‘more’, and ‘OS’ for ‘Operating System’. It embodies the Group’s commitment to evolving technology, adding user-centric value to the movement of people and objects to achieve increased freedom to move.

To achieve a software-centered mobility environment, the Group is advancing towards SDVs through innovations in electrical and electronic (E&E) architecture, alongside the development of Hyundai Motor Group’s own vehicle OS and Pleos Connect. These advancements enable vehicles to serve as efficient and flexible software platforms, strengthening connectivity between vehicles and infrastructure.

Hyundai Motor Group’s vehicle control operating system is designed for software-defined operation. It utilizes an E&E architecture that combines high-performance vehicle computer (HPVC) and zone-specific controllers. The OS enhances system performance and stability through a modular, standardized architecture and allows for continuous updates and functional expansion by decoupling hardware and software developments.

• Pleos Connect is a next-gen infotainment system based on the Android Automotive OS (AAOS), with unique, customizable and user-friendly features. It provides a personalized service environment based on ‘Pleos ID’—a single, connected user profile accessible in any Pleos Connect-based vehicle. Pleos Connect is scheduled to make its in-vehicle debut in Q2 2026, with expanding to more than 20 million vehicles by 2030.

• Pleos Playground is an open development platform that allows third-party mobile app developers to freely access automotive software endpoints such as vehicles, cloud, analytics and accessories. Playground provides AAOS software development kit (SDK) and basic tools, as well as the extended SDKs offered by Pleos Connect, design guides, application programming interfaces (APIs), sample codes and development support tools. Developers can distribute their apps through ‘App Market’ where users can download and update apps easily as in the mobile environment. It supports ‘Plug & Play (PnP)’ for direct connection of external hardware to the vehicle without extra settings, pushing the boundary of vehicle accessory development.

The Group also introduced the ‘Next Urban Mobility Alliance’ (NUMA) at Pleos 25, aiming to realize a cloud-based mobility vision by creating a public-private partnership framework to connect and optimize movements in an autonomous transportation environment. Through the collaboration, NUMA addresses social issues such as mobility rights, regional depopulation and the climate crisis to improve the freedom to move.

Hyundai Motor Group also announced plans to implement Level 2+ (L2+) autonomous driving by the end of 2027. The Level 2+ system recognizes vehicle surroundings through cameras and radars and makes more complex decisions based on its artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning decision structures.

The Group plans to continuously optimize AI model efficiency through lightweighting, while enhancing training efficiency and performance by leveraging vehicle-optimized neural processing units (NPUs) and large-scale training infrastructure. Through these efforts, the Group intends to evolve its vehicles into self-learning and continuously advancing learning machines.