Kia has started a pilot car-sharing service in South Korea using its PV5 electric van, with remote driving technology. The service launched in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, and will run until the end of the year. It is the first of its kind in the country to use remote driving for car-sharing.
Users reserve a PV5 through a dedicated app. The van drives itself to the pickup location without a driver, and after the user is finished, a remote driver returns it to its garage using 4G or 5G wireless technology. Kia says the model could help businesses improve efficiency and reduce the burden of owning a fleet of vehicles, while also making pickup and drop-off more convenient.
The pilot is part of Kia's broader push into remote driving. It follows a regulatory sandbox exemption from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and a consortium formed with Socar, KT, and autonomous driving startup SUM. The current pilot involves Kia, SUM, Mobiops, and the Korea Road Traffic Authority, with support from Gyeonggi Province, KT, and other partner organizations. Kia plans to use data from the trial to advance the technology and expand the service in 2027, accelerating commercialization of PV5-based remote driving.