Hyundai hydrogen autonomous truck named TIME best invention

Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen fuel cell autonomous truck, Xcient, has been named one of TIME magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2025.”

TIME announced on Oct. 9 that Xcient was among 300 innovations selected across categories including robotics and artificial intelligence, placing it in the “Experimental” category.

Hyundai said the selected model combines its hydrogen-powered Xcient truck with “SuperDrive,” a Level 4 autonomous driving software developed by U.S. commercial vehicle automation company PlusAI. Level 4 autonomy allows the vehicle to operate without human intervention under certain conditions.

Other Korean products on TIME’s list include three from Samsung Electronics, including the Micro RGB TV, and LG Electronics’ PuriCare AeroCat Tower air purifier, which features a seat for cats.


Won-Joo Lee takeoff@donga.com