Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 Robotaxi Is First Driverless Car to Ace Its Driving Test

After excelling in thousands of technical trials, Hyundai's IONIQ5 robotaxi has achieved a new milestone: it became the first autonomous vehicle to take and pass a standard driving license test in Nevada. 

As shown in a surprising and delightful film by agency Jung von Matt, the car was put through its paces in Las Vegas by a real-life driving examiner, undergoing a road test around the famous Las Vegas Strip and some suburban areas of the city. 

The results? IONIQ5 robotaxi aced the test with a perfect score.

The storyline of the film, directed by Park Pictures’ Daniel Mercadante, features a visually impaired former Paralympian, Pearl Outlaw, together with her mother Ruth. Their personal story emotively illustrates how Hyundai’s autonomous driving technology will be able to help Pearl in future with her daily transportation challenges. 

The goal of the campaign is to change perceptions of autonomous driving technology, which currently suffers from a lack of trust in comparison with human drivers, and to show how it can benefit people’s daily lives enormously. With the story of Pearl, it underlines how Hyundai is committed to designing driving solutions that enhance the quality of life for individuals unable to drive independently, aiming to empower them with greater autonomy and mobility. 

“As a company that pursues freedom of mobility, we at Hyundai aim to exhibit the safety and trustworthiness of the IONIQ 5 robotaxi through this very campaign,” said Sungwon Jee, senior vice president and global chief marketing officer at Hyundai Motor Company. “We will continue our efforts to communicate about our AI-based autonomous driving technology, which is set to provide positive changes in the everyday lives of our customers.” 

In the film, the Hyundai IONIQ5 robotaxi navigates its way through an official driving evaluation, autonomously performing manoeuvres under the watchful scrutiny of Kandice Jones, a certified driving examiner with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) who, in her career as an examiner,  failed in her career as examiner almost 90% of the students.


Starting on grade, Shifting, keeping in lane, left turn, right turn, overtaking, speed control, reaction time, Focus and attention, emergency brake, parallel parking - these are few of the test the driverless vehicle had to face.

To Kandice's surprise, the vehicle not only meets but exceeds expectations, achieving a flawless score, and the vehicle is issued with its own personal Nevada’s drivers licence. This achievement underscores the robotaxi's reliability and safety, opening a new era of trust and technological reliance that could transform millions of lives. The film underines how advancement holds particular promise for individuals like Pearl and all those people that due to physical or mental limitations, might never have the chance to undergo a driving test. Invited to experience the IONIQ5 robotaxi first hand after the examination, Pearl's journey symbolizes the potential for enhanced independence through innovation, offering a glimpse into a future where technology broadens horizons for everyone. 

Jung von Matt was awarded the project following a competitive pitch and worked on the campaign from creative concept development to production and post production, with three of its agencies – Jung von Matt Neckar, Jung von Matt Spree and Jung von Matt Sports – collaborated seamlessly, contributing to every phase of the campaign, from conceptualisation and execution to the final production. 

"Autonomous driving technology would be a game changer for a large part of the population. And whilst there are great achievements being made in the development of the technology there are major trust issues in the general public. We hope this project will spark a conversation around who would benefit from driverless cars and what it would take to get someone stepping into a car with no one behind the steering wheel." adds Jung von Matt CCO Daniel Schäfer

The film will be running online and on the Hyundai Worldwide social media channels.