Autonomous A2Z Ranks 7th Globally in 2025 Guidehouse Automated Driving Leaderboard, Marking Highest-Ever Ranking for a Korean Company
– Guidehouse Research Leaderboard2025 ranks Autonomous A2Z 7th overall, the highest position ever achieved by a Korean autonomous driving company
– Only Korean company to be ranked for three consecutive years; rises for the second straight year, climbing four places year-over-year into the global Top 10
– Ranked 5th globally in Strategy, recognized for Level 4 autonomous vehicle "ROii," APEC deployment, and global scalability
SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Autonomous driving startup Autonomous A2Z (CEO Ji-hyung Han, hereinafter "A2Z") announced that it has been ranked 7th globally in the 2025 Automated Driving Systems Leaderboard published by Guidehouse, marking the highest ranking ever achieved by a Korean company in the report's history.
Autonomous A2Z achieves Korea’s highest-ever ranking, placing 7th in Guidehouse’s global autonomous driving leaderboard
Guidehouse, which was established following a spin-off from PwC's public sector and advisory practice, is a global consulting firm. Since 2015, Guidehouse has published the world's only comprehensive global leaderboard evaluating the capabilities of autonomous driving companies.
A2Z first entered the rankings in 2023 at 13th place, followed by 11th in 2024 and 7th in 2025. It is the only Korean company to appear on the leaderboard for three consecutive years and has recorded two consecutive annual ranking increases, reinforcing its position as Korea's leading autonomous driving company with growing global competitiveness.
The 2025 evaluation assessed companies across two major dimensions: Strategy, including vision, go-to-market strategy, partners, production strategy, technology, and geographic reach; and Execution, covering sales/marketing and distribution, product performance, product quality and reliability, product portfolio, pricing, and staying power.
This year's assessment placed greater emphasis on geographic expansion and pricing, reflecting not only technological competitiveness but also companies' long-term viability and self-sustainability in the capital-intensive autonomous driving market.
Notably, A2Z ranked 5th overall in the Strategy category, outperforming all companies classified in the "Contenders" group and trailing only the four companies designated as "Leaders." Within this category, A2Z received particularly high scores in Production Strategy, Technology, and Geographic Reach.
Guidehouse highlighted A2Z's clear and differentiated market entry strategy centered on public transportation, its extensive real-world driving experience gained through close collaboration with government and public institutions, and its strong potential for global expansion.
Among the key factors cited was A2Z's successful deployment of autonomous vehicles during the APEC 2025 Leaders' Meeting, as well as large-scale autonomous driving demonstrations in government districts, ownership of the domestically developed Level 4 autonomous vehicle "ROii" with a 96% localization rate, and a competitive pricing structure. The company's progress toward near-term commercialization in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Japan was also noted as a significant strength.
"Being selected to officially operate Level 4 autonomous vehicles—developed entirely with Korean technology—at a global event such as the APEC Leaders' Meeting was a meaningful factor in this year's evaluation," said Ji-hyung Han, CEO of Autonomous A2Z. "We are deeply grateful for the support and collaboration of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and other related organizations. Building on Korea's upcoming large-scale autonomous driving demonstration cities, we will accelerate operational scale-up and technological advancement to contribute to the national goal of becoming one of the world's top three AI powers."
[Guidehouse Report Download – Paid Access] Guidehouse Research Leaderboard: Automated Driving Systems (2025)
About Autonomous A2Z
Founded in 2018 by CEO Ji-hyung Han and four former Hyundai Motor Group autonomous driving engineers, Autonomous A2Z is one of Korea's leading autonomous driving companies. The company operates the nation's largest fleet of autonomous vehicles, with experience running 82 autonomous vehicles nationwide and has accumulated approximately 940,000 kilometers of autonomous driving mileage—the highest in Korea's urban autonomous driving sector.
Leveraging this experience, A2Z develops a range of future mobility services, including urban autonomous shuttles and smart logistics mobility solutions, with a focus on safe and efficient commercialization of autonomous driving technology. In 2024, the company completed development of its Level 4 autonomous vehicle, ROii, and plans to pursue full commercialization following performance certification testing in 2026.
A2Z is also accelerating its global expansion. The company established a Singapore joint venture, A2G (Autonomous to Global), with global expansion partner KILSA Global, secured the COSMO smart city project in Singapore, and became the first Korean company to obtain a local autonomous driving license (M1). In the UAE, A2Z formed a joint venture with AI company Space42, marking the first such partnership for a Korean autonomous driving firm, and in Japan, it signed an MOU with trading company Kanematsu to explore entry into the Japanese autonomous driving market.
Through collaborations spanning mobility services for transportation-disadvantaged populations and smart logistics solutions, Autonomous A2Z continues to drive sustainable innovation in future mobility.
Media Contact(PR Agency)
Doyeon Kang
CEO, Peak Road