Mobility infrastructure company Humax Mobility is moving to build operations infrastructure for robotaxi fleets. Humax Mobility said on Sept. 3 it launched a "joint business consortium for robotaxi fleet operations infrastructure" on Sept. 2 with its subsidiaries Hi Parking, Humax EV and Peoplecar, and its affiliates Kyle E-Sam Jasper and Conatus, and signed an agreement among the six companies.

The consortium will pursue five tasks in stages: identifying models for parking and standby hubs for autonomous vehicles; linking charging and vehicle management operating systems; conducting operational demonstrations of autonomous vehicle operations; developing cooperation models with taxi operators; and identifying joint projects with autonomous driving operators at home and abroad. The goal is to connect parking, standby, charging and vehicle management, which had been scattered across separate businesses, into a single operating system.

In global markets, major robotaxi operators are expanding service areas by securing depots and charging hubs and building operating foundations through cooperation with local specialist companies. In South Korea, a pilot programme for autonomous driving of about 3,000 vehicles is being pushed through next year, but an operations infrastructure industry for parking, charging and maintenance has not yet formed.

Companies participating in the consortium have secured operational assets nationwide. The base includes about 1,400 parking lots operated by Hi Parking, about 3,300 charging stations run by Humax EV and about 1,350 vehicle management network locations linked to Kyle E-Sam Jasper. The six companies plan to convert and connect these assets into autonomous fleet operations infrastructure in stages.

The companies also divided roles. Humax Mobility will integrate capabilities in parking, charging and vehicle management and cooperation structures with regional taxi and fleet operators, and will oversee identifying joint projects and partnerships with autonomous driving operators in South Korea and abroad. Hi Parking will supply parking control technology to corporate taxi depots and link it with a robotaxi control platform, while Humax EV will handle electric vehicle charging infrastructure and Kyle E-Sam Jasper will take charge of vehicle inspection and maintenance. Peoplecar will participate based on its experience operating a mobility platform, and Conatus will support converting corporate taxi depots into robotaxi hubs based on its franchised taxi business foundation and taxi association network.

Humax Mobility CEO Jung Sung-min (정성민) said, "Competitiveness in the era of autonomous driving will be determined beyond how well vehicles drive, by how stably and efficiently they can be operated." He added, "Based on each company's existing capabilities in parking, charging and vehicle management and win-win partnerships with the taxi industry, we will establish ourselves as a practical fleet operations partner that supports autonomous driving operators at home and abroad in stably expanding services."