Six months after autonomous trucks began hauling freight on South Korean expressways, the operational efficiency gains are still limited, the industry says. While highway driving is stabilising, duplicate staffing remains because safety personnel must still ride in the cab. Challenges also persist off the road, including terminal entry, docking for loading and unloading, and clarifying liability when accidents occur. Companies are accelerating commercial plans despite calls for faster regulatory and procedural fixes.

Competition among automakers, mobility platforms and software developers is intensifying ahead of broader adoption of autonomous driving. As vehicle platforms and AI models converge on common standards, companies are seeking advantage by accumulating real-world driving data to feed learning, verification and deployment. Hyundai Motor Group is pursuing a two-track approach using Nvidia’s platform while developing its own driving model. Kakao Mobility and RideFlux are building maps and operations and collecting difficult scenario data through commercial runs.