Kia Launches First-of-Its-Kind Remote Driving Car-Sharing Service With PV5 EV Van
The pilot program in Pangyo, South Korea, utilizes 4G and 5G networks to allow remote drivers to retrieve vehicles after use.
Kia has launched a first-of-its-kind remote car-sharing pilot program in South Korea, deploying its PV5 electric van to test autonomous retrieval and delivery via remote driving technology.
What Happened
The pilot began operations on Thursday in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, and is scheduled to run until the end of the year. According to Kia, this is the first service in South Korea to utilize remote driving technology for car-sharing. The process involves users reserving a vehicle through a dedicated app; the PV5 then drives itself to the user's location without an onboard driver. After the user finishes driving and parks the vehicle at a desired spot, a remote operator uses 4G or 5G wireless technology to move the van back to its garage.
Why It Matters
Kia states that the program aims to help businesses improve efficiency and reduce the burden of owning a fleet, while offering users the convenience of flexible pick-up and drop-off points. This initiative builds on Kia’s recent regulatory and partnership milestones, including a special exemption for a remote driving regulatory sandbox from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in April, and a consortium formed in November 2025 with Socar, KT, and startup SUM. For this specific pilot, Kia is working with SUM, Mobiops, and the Korea Road Traffic Authority, with support from partners such as Gyeonggi Province and KT. The project seeks to verify the feasibility of remote driving technology and service operations under real-world conditions.
The Bottom Line
The data gathered during this pilot will inform Kia’s plans to expand the service in 2027, with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of PV5-based remote driving services.
