[Editor's Note] At the '2026 Busan Mobility Show,' Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Genesis redefined the automobile as a "digital platform that continues to evolve after delivery" through strategies involving SDV, AI, PBV, and high performance. The popularization of SDVs by the Avante, the expansion of mobility infrastructure by Kia's PV5, and Genesis's technology loop demonstrated an industrial transformation, presenting the direction for the future automotive industry. Through the press day on June 26, we took a look at the '2026 Busan Mobility Show' and forecasted the future of transportation, including the popularization of SDVs.


Automobiles are no longer finished products but are transforming into software-based mobility platforms that are continuously updated and whose services are expanded.

The '2026 Busan Mobility Show' was held at BEXCO in Busan and the downtown area from the 27th to the 5th, starting with a press day on June 26.

The core message of this year's Busan Mobility Show went beyond the unveiling of new vehicles and focused on the transition to SDVs, or software-centric vehicles.

In particular, Hyundai Motor’s equipping the 8th-generation completely redesigned model ‘The All New Avante’ with the next-generation infotainment system ‘Pleo Connect’ and the generative AI agent ‘Gleo AI’ is considered a signal of the popularization of SDVs.


SDV in the Avante: A Mass-Protein Car Becomes a 'Software Platform'

The most iconic scene of this show is that Hyundai’s compact sedan, the Avante, has been positioned at the forefront of the SDV strategy, rather than simply being a fully redesigned model.

At this exhibition, Hyundai Motor applied AAOS, or Android Automotive OS-based 'Pleos Connect,' to 'The All New Avante,' combining an app market and OTA wireless update functions.

This projects the smartphone screen onto the vehicle.This is significant in that, unlike existing mirroring methods, the app runs directly on the vehicle's operating system.

In the automotive industry, SDVs change the nature of vehicles.

In the past, the performance and specifications at the time of release virtually determined most of the product.

On the other hand, in the SDV system, vehicle functions and user experience continue to expand even after delivery through OTA updates, subscription services, and in-car app sales.

This is interpreted as a 'transformation of the vehicle revenue model,' and is analyzed as a shift in automobiles from one-time purchase products into continuously updated platforms.

■ 'Gleo AI', a car that goes beyond voice commands to understand context

Another axis of the SDV transition is AI. Hyundai Motor's unveiled generative AI agent, 'Gleo AI,' aims for continuous conversation and contextual reasoning, going beyond the level of simple command recognition.

In this announcement, Hyundai Motor stated that Gleo AI automatically detects the location and activates the rear seat heaters when a rear passenger says, "Turn on the heated seats," and is equipped with the ability to even recognize regional dialects.

This shows that automotive interfaces are shifting from being button and touchscreen-centric to being conversational AI-centric.

As the number of in-vehicle functions increases, the method of the driver manually navigating every menu reaches its limits.

In this case, the AI agent takes on the role of an 'in-vehicle operations assistant' connecting the climate control, seats, navigation, infotainment, and app services.

Experts analyzed that Hyundai Motor Group views this system as a foundation for evolving from SDV to AIDV, or AI Defined Vehicle.

■ From flagship to volume model… A strategic turning point for the expansion of SDV

The fact that Hyundai Motor has equipped the Avante with SDV technology is strategically important.


This indicates that after being first applied to the Grandeur and verified in the flagship market, the path to popularization was initiated with the Avante, a volume model selling over 50,000 units annually. It is analyzed that if the SDV does not remain merely an additional feature of luxury cars but moves down to the mass-market segment, its impact on the market will increase.

Consumers receive updates on new features even after purchasing a vehicle, and manufacturers maintain customer touchpoints even after the sale.

This is a structure in which finished vehicle companies expand from simple manufacturers into software service providers.

Experts assessed that Hyundai Motor Group has entered a phase of full-scale penetration into the SDV market opened by Tesla, leveraging its existing dealer network and brand credibility.

■ Kia PV5: How SDVs Expand Beyond 'Vehicles' to 'Mobility Infrastructure'

At this Busan Mobility Show, another direction of SDV expansion was revealed through the Kia PV5.

The PV5 is Kia's first dedicated PBV model, presented not as a simple electric van but as a platform capable of carrying various industrial services.


PV5 is based on Hyundai Motor Group's first dedicated PBV platform, 'E-GMP.S,' and allows various upper bodies to be mounted on a single platform through a skateboard structure that modularizes the front, center, and rear.

Kia's PV5 Passenger in BusanThey unveiled the 7-seater, PV5 Prime, and PV5 Cargo High Roof.

In addition, six collaborative models were also unveiled, including an AI patrol car, a mobile pet pop-up store, a mobile bank, a motorcycle transport vehicle, a school bus, and an ice cream truck, all developed jointly with the National Police Agency.

This can be analyzed as an exhibition demonstrating Kia's transition from an automobile manufacturer to a platform provider designing industry-specific mobility solutions.

The significance of PV5 lies in the fact that SDVs do not remain limited to the digital experience inside passenger cars.

This means that vehicles can become mobile infrastructure that performs urban functions such as police patrols, financial services, logistics, education, pet services, and leisure transportation.

PV5’s examples of AI patrol cars, mobile banks, and school buses demonstrate the potential for urban service infrastructure to be reorganized from fixed facilities to mobile platforms.


■ The Intersection of SDV and PBV: The Emergence of 'Mobile Operating Systems'

Kia's PBV strategy has greater significance when combined with SDV.

This is because vehicles are not merely machines that travel to a destination, but software-based devices that perform specific industrial services.

Kia plans to sequentially launch the PV7 and PV9 following the PV5, and in terms of software, it has set a goal of implementing an SDV based on a next-generation E/E architecture and Level 2++ autonomous driving capable of urban driving.

If this direction is realized, PBVs will become mobile devices that allow companies or public institutions to select and update functions as needed.

For example, AI patrol cars become security platforms equipped with cameras and drone stations, and mobile banks implement the role of financial branches on vehicles.

In Kia's PBV Phase 3 vision, the vehicle is redefined as a mobile operating system integrated with autonomous driving, robotics, and smart city systems.

■ Genesis differentiates itself with a high-performance technology roof.

While Hyundai and Kia respectively put their SDV experiences and PBV platforms at the forefront, Genesis reinforced its brand's technological image through a high-performance strategy.

Genesis presented a new direction of 'luxury high performance' by unveiling the Magma GT concept and the GMR-001 hypercar design model for the first time in Asia.


Genesis's participation in the WEC is interpreted not merely as promotion, but as a loop for developing mass production technology.

Genesis mentioned a structure in which thermal management, energy regeneration, and material technologies proven in extreme endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans are transferred to mass-produced vehicles, and described the GV60 Magma as the first mass-produced result.

In the SDV-centric article, the case of Genesis illustrates the division of roles within the entire Hyundai Motor Group rather than a direct software platform strategy.

Hyundai Motor is software experience, Kia is PBV ecosystem, GenesisIt put high-performance brand sensibility at the forefront.

The fact that the messages of the three brands are differentiated rather than overlapping is considered a sign of increased strategic completeness.

■ “From Vehicle Purchase to Subscription”… The Industrial Transformation Demonstrated by Busan

The core question left by the 2026 Busan Mobility Show is clear.

Going forward, it is highly likely that automotive companies will place greater importance on maintaining digital relationships with customers after delivery than on the number of cars they sell.

Once Pleos Connect's OTA and app market structure is established, a structure in which automakers continue to sell software even after delivery will become a reality.

This changes the meaning of purchasing a car from the consumer's perspective as well.

Vehicles are no longer a fixed set of specifications, but become digital products with added features and expanded services over time.

From the manufacturer's perspective, post-sales software revenue, data-driven services, and the operation of app ecosystems are emerging as new axes of competition.

The SDV strategy revealed at the Busan Mobility Show ultimately demonstrates that the center of the automotive industry is shifting from engines and batteries to OS, AI, app markets, and OTA.


■ Cars are &From a 'sold-and-find product' to a 'continuously evolving platform'

This year's Busan Mobility Show was a spectacular exhibition of new cars, while simultaneously serving as a stage that encapsulated the direction of the automotive industry.

Hyundai’s Avante brought the SDV into the mass-market segment, Kia’s PV5 expanded the vehicle into industrial mobility infrastructure, and Genesis presented the brand’s next stage through a high-performance technology loop.

The key to the future cars unveiled in Busan was not faster cars, bigger cars, or more expensive cars.

The key was a car that stays connected longer, updates more frequently, and performs more services.

The future of SDVs shown at the 2026 Busan Mobility Show was a scene where automobiles transformed from machines on the road into terminals of a digital ecosystem.

Competition is no longer confined to the vehicle body. Operating systems, AI, app ecosystems, and OTA updates are opening the next battlefield of the automotive industry.