Rideflux has become the first Korean company to launch a paid freight transportation business using autonomous vehicles. The company also announced plans to expand its paid autonomous delivery services nationwide within the year after signing a freight transportation contract with Lotte Global Logistics.
Rideflux said Wednesday it has received Korea's first permit for paid freight transportation using autonomous vehicles from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The company plans to begin autonomous freight delivery services in June after signing a paid transportation contract with Lotte Global Logistics. One 25-ton truck will be deployed on a 112-kilometer route connecting the Dongnam Logistics Complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and Lotte Delivery's Mega Hub Terminal in Jincheon-gun, North Chungcheong Province.
Rideflux also plans to expand the scope of its autonomous delivery services within this year. The company intends to launch paid freight services on routes including Gunsan Port to Jeonju in North Jeolla Province to Daejeon, as well as in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, and Jeju Island. Rideflux plans to prioritize deploying autonomous driving technology on late-night shifts and long-distance repetitive routes where truck driver availability is limited.
The paid transportation service will operate with a safety officer on board, and the maximum speed will be limited to 90 km/h. Rideflux aims to achieve unmanned operations between logistics hubs by 2027, gradually transitioning to fully autonomous driving.
Last month, Rideflux successfully completed a fully hands-off autonomous drive on the Songpa-Jincheon route with a 25-ton truck carrying 11 tons of cargo, with no human intervention required at any point. The company said this demonstrates its advanced Level 4 autonomous driving software technology, accumulated through robotaxi pilot programs, now applied to freight transportation. "We will prove profitability through innovation in the autonomous freight transportation market," Rideflux CEO Park Jung-hee said.
